Suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers state have accepted to only serve out his first term in office as President Bola Tinubu settles the political rift between his political godfather, the FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike and himself.
The peace deal, the second in his presidential intervention in the crisis is reminiscent of a similar one six years ago when former Governor Ambode was forced to accept only a term in a political crisis in which he intervened as the political godfather of Lagos state.
That means the emergency rule in Rivers state would soon be over as he held a reconciliatory meeting with suspended Governor Sim Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, in the State House Abuja on Thursday, June 26.
The meeting, which was like a rat having an encircled dialogue with cats also had in attendance suspended members of the State House of Assembly and other top loyalists of the FCT Minister.
But it is still unconfirmed if Gov Fubara attended the meeting alone, not even with his deputy, Prof Ngozi Ordu, nor any of his strong supporters, even former Governor Peter Odili. It’s not also clear if he chose to attend the reconciliatory meeting alone or was acting under instructions.
While speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Wike said peace has finally been restored as the governor has finally agreed to work together with him and others involved.
‘’We thank God that peace has finally returned to the state. We’ve all agreed to work together with the governor and the governor has agreed to work together with all of us. We’re members of the same political family. Like humans, we all have agreements and then you also have a time to also settle your disagreements and that has been finally concluded today and we have come to report to the President that this is what we have agreed.
“For me, everything is over and I enjoin everybody who believe to work with us to also work together with everybody that there is no more acrimony, there is nothing to say we are disagreeing. We have all agreed on everything and so we thank God.”
Also speaking, Fubara said, ‘’For me, it is important that this day has come to be. What we need for the progress of Rivers state is peace and by the special grace of God, this night, with the help of Mr President and the agreement of the leaders of the state, peace has returned in Rivers state.”
Presidential sources said the meeting marked a turning point in Tinubu’s efforts to bring the governor and Wike together, but at a price to Gov Fubara. “The arrangement is clear: no second term, no local government control, and peace will return,” said one source.
Another source stated that, ‘’the president made it clear that Rivers cannot afford a prolonged crisis. The deal is about restoring calm, but it comes at a steep cost for Fubara. Wike is the real winner here. By controlling the local government chairmen, he retains significant influence over the state’s political machinery, which will be crucial for 2027.”
Recall that the political rift between Fubara and Wike, his predecessor, which began nearly two years ago was largely centred on control of political structure in the oil-rich state.
While Wike has sought to maintain a firm grip on the political machinery he built over eight years in office as governor, Fubara had asserted control as the executive governor of the state in line with existing precedents.
The power struggle triggered a political crisis in the state, destabilising governance, culminating in attempts to impeach Gov Fubara and polarising the state into camps and factions. Key institutions and individuals, including the state assembly were caught in the crossfire, with factions aligning with Wike or Fubara.
Previous attempts by Tinubu to broker peace between the two camps hit a brick wall, further exacerbating the crisis into a tribal one, threatening to engulf the entire Niger Delta region.
Consequently, on March 18, Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers state, citing the prolonged political crisis. He also suspended Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu; and all members of the Rivers Assembly for a period of six months.
The president appointed Ibok-Ette Ibas, a retired naval chief, as the state’s sole administrator.
