Suspended Rivers Governor Fubara Meets President Tinubu Amid Peace Efforts

  By Amos Joseph Crisis Talks Resume as Political Tension Boils in Rivers State Fubara’s Visit Follows Pledge to Reconcile with Wike Suspend...

 

By Amos Joseph

• Crisis Talks Resume as Political Tension Boils in Rivers State
• Fubara’s Visit Follows Pledge to Reconcile with Wike

Suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the president’s private residence in Lagos on Tuesday, as part of ongoing efforts to resolve the lingering political crisis in Rivers State.

The meeting comes against the backdrop of reconciliation efforts between Fubara and his estranged political mentor, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. The rift between the two leaders has fueled a months-long political crisis in the state.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, confirmed the meeting in a Facebook post on Tuesday evening. “Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers, now on suspension from office, visited President Bola Tinubu in Lagos on Tuesday,” he wrote.

President Tinubu had, in March, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Fubara from office for six months following a breakdown in governance and failed attempts at brokering peace between the warring factions in the state’s executive and legislature

Although details of the Lagos meeting have not been made public, Fubara’s recent comments suggest a willingness to de-escalate tensions. Just last week, the governor declared his readiness to prioritise peace over personal or political pride.

“We have to come down from our high horses and subject ourselves to the peace process. And that is what we are doing. What is important is for the state to move forward. It is not about you — the state’s interest is paramount,” Fubara said.

Fubara and Wike remain central figures in the political standoff that led to the suspension of governance structures in Rivers by the presidency. The Lagos meeting is seen as a crucial step toward restoring normalcy in the oil-rich state.