…As Fubara Visits Political godfather
The hitherto unmanageable Rivers political crisis that has set political stooges jumping from one side of the divide to the other for close to two years now may have finally come to an end.
This is sequel to the final resolution and agreement to sheath their swords in the interest of the state by the two commanding officers of the political war, Chief Barr. Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister, and his political godson, Gov Siminalayi Fubara.
Chief Barr Wike for the first time openly admitted the settlement while fielding questions from newsmen in Abuja.
The Rivers strongman, Chief Wike said as a father and for the unadulterated regard he has for his principal, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu who has continued to broker peace between them, they have finally laid the crisis to rest.
Wike further said he would ask the other party to the crisis, the State lawmakers to lay down their arms and allow Gov Fubara a smooth run, hoping that the governor on his part, will co-operate as agreed and do his own part.
Having settled their differences, the FCT Minister, Chief Barr. Wike assured that the mass of Rivers people will never hear of the discord any more.
Recall that fresh signs of rapprochement emerged following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu, who reportedly summoned both men and key Rivers stakeholders to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in a bid to halt the protracted political standoff threatening governance in the oil-rich state.
Sources familiar with the development said the closed-door meeting, which stretched late into the night, was frank and decisive.
While official details were not disclosed, insiders hinted that the President demanded an immediate de-escalation of hostilities and a restoration of political order in Rivers.
A development that set tongues wagging across Port Harcourt and Abuja, Governor Fubara was later seen accompanying Wike to the minister’s residence in Guzape.
The symbolic gesture—coming barely hours after Wike had reportedly denounced and cursed political actors backing the governor—has been interpreted as a powerful signal that both camps may be stepping back from the brink.
Unconfirmed accounts suggest that Fubara appealed for calm and assured the former governor that he had no intention of undermining his political legacy or structure.
Observers say the tone marked a stark contrast to the months of public sparring, legislative showdowns and courtroom battles that defined their feud.
The crisis, which erupted shortly after Fubara assumed office in 2023, fractured the Rivers State House of Assembly into rival factions loyal to each leader. Impeachment threats, parallel sittings and fierce struggles over party machinery deepened uncertainty, raising fears about governance paralysis.
Wike’s earlier outburst—where he reportedly invoked curses on those fueling what he termed an insurrection—had suggested that reconciliation was distant. Yet Tinubu’s intervention appears to have forced a political reset.
For the presidency, stabilizing Rivers is not merely about state politics but about safeguarding a strategic political and economic hub ahead of future electoral contests.
For Wike and Fubara, the Abuja meeting may represent a pragmatic recognition that prolonged confrontation benefits neither camp. Whether this fragile truce holds remains to be seen. But for now, Rivers has moved—at least symbolically—from curses to cautious conversation.
