Rivers Crisis: Tinubu Convenes Fresh Reconciliation Meeting

President Bola Tinubu on Thursday, June 26, hosted yet another reconciliation meeting in Abuja between suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in a fresh bid to resolve the prolonged political standoff rocking the state.

Also in attendance at the closed-door meeting were the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, and several other lawmakers, all of whom were removed from office earlier in the year when Tinubu declared a six-month emergency rule in the oil-rich state.

The emergency declaration, made on March 18, followed failed attempts to mediate the fierce power struggle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor-turned-political rival, Wike. As part of the emergency measures, Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy, and all members of the Rivers Assembly, appointing retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as the state’s sole administrator.

The Fubara-Wike feud has fractured the Rivers political landscape, splitting the House of Assembly into two rival factions one comprising 27 pro-Wike lawmakers who defected to the APC, and another with three lawmakers still loyal to Fubara and the PDP. Governor Fubara insists the defectors lost their seats due to party-switching, a claim countered by a Supreme Court ruling which reinstated the pro-Wike lawmakers as the legitimate assembly.

Following the ruling, the federal government halted allocations to the Rivers State government and annulled local elections conducted by the Fubara administration. Tensions escalated further when the Assembly, emboldened by the court’s support, reignited impeachment proceedings against Fubara just before the emergency declaration.

This latest peace effort by President Tinubu comes amid growing concern over the political impasse and its impact on governance in one of Nigeria’s most economically strategic states.

No official statement was issued after the meeting, but sources close to the presidency say Tinubu remains determined to broker lasting peace between both camps.