Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike left the Presidential Villa together in the same vehicle on Sunday night following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, according to presidency officials with knowledge of the discussion.
While the two political adversaries arrived separately, they departed together after the President’s intervention—a symbolic gesture that officials suggest may signal an end to their protracted political conflict.
“The two of them did not come together. Fubara came first, then Wike came later. But at the end of the day, both of them left the Villa together in the same vehicle. Doesn’t that mean they both settled?” one source said.
Another presidency official confirmed the reconciliation meeting: “Yes, he met them yesterday night. It is true. The two of them settled. He talked to two of them. But I can’t tell you what he said.”
The Nation first reported the meeting early Monday, noting that Fubara accompanied Wike to his Guzape residence in Abuja afterward.
A Crisis Nearly Two Years in the Making
The meeting represents a potential breakthrough in Rivers State’s political crisis, which has crippled governance in the oil-rich state for nearly two years.
The rift between Wike and his political protégé Fubara began shortly after the latter took office in May 2023. Tensions escalated in October when Wike-aligned members of the Rivers State House of Assembly launched impeachment proceedings against Fubara.
The governor responded by demolishing the Assembly complex following a suspicious fire and relocating legislative sessions to temporary quarters. The power struggle that followed plunged the state into a governance crisis.
Previous Interventions and Emergency Rule
In December 2023, President Tinubu first intervened, brokering a fragile truce that resulted in a peace deal where Fubara conceded several political appointments to Wike’s loyalists. However, the arrangement collapsed, and the conflict reignited.
On March 18, 2025, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency, suspending the governor’s executive powers for an initial six-month period due to rising insecurity and administrative paralysis. He appointed former Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.) as sole administrator.
The President intervened again to ease tensions, leading to the end of emergency rule in September 2025.
In recent months, Fubara and the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly have remained at odds, with the Assembly issuing another impeachment notice against the governor.
