Once more, President Bola Tinubu has stepped in to put an end to the growing conflict between Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, and Nyesom Wike, his predecessor and estranged godfather.
The state was on the verge of governorship impeachment, legislative gridlock, and protracted instability following months of unsuccessful settlement negotiations.
The president had earlier mediated a shaky peace between Fubara and Wike in December 2023, but it quickly collapsed, prompting Tinubu to declare a six-month emergency rule in the state on March 18, 2025, and suspend the governor.
However, Tinubu ordered an immediate postponement of any impeachment proceedings against Fubara, subject to very severe conditions, in an effort to diffuse one of the nation’s most explosive political disputes in recent years.
According to several high-ranking sources with knowledge of the matter, Tinubu established the political conditions for reestablishing harmony between the two main political players in Rivers State, which is thought to be crucial to the president’s reelection in 2027, just before leaving for an official trip to Turkey on January 26.
With his involvement, Tinubu sent Fubara a clear message: Wike must be regarded as the unquestioned political leader of the party, whether it is the APC or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State.
According to reports, the president, who was clearly unhappy with the extent of the division despite his prior attempts, warned that more fighting would threaten state governance and cause instability, something Tinubu claimed he was not yet prepared to tolerate.
According to reports, Tinubu explicitly instructed Wike to abandon any plans to remove Fubara from office and permit state government.
Just months after the governor was sworn in in May 2023, Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, had a cat-and-mouse relationship. The governor has resisted what many see to be the FCT minister’s chokehold on him, while Wike, who personally orchestrated Fubara’s rise to become his successor, has attempted to control the levers of power from Abuja.
Within months of Fubara’s inauguration, the relationship started to deteriorate as the governor subtly attempted to demonstrate his independence, prompting state political actors to choose sides right away. Notably, nearly all state legislators support Wike in the current dispute.
Later, the pro-Wike faction in the House of Assembly began to try to impeach Fubara. The governor has made multiple attempts to avoid the problem, but every time he disagrees with the minister, the threat of impeachment lingers.
There have been numerous attempts to end the problem, but none of them have resulted in a long-lasting peace. The oil-rich kingdom declared a six-month state of emergency after one of the peace talks failed.
Fubara’s supporters contend that a former governor who is currently the FCT minister cannot manage Rivers State from outside the state, notwithstanding Wike’s camp’s ongoing accusations of treason and political ingratitude.
One source described the president’s thoughts over the most recent attempt to put an end to the protracted controversy, comparing it to Lagos State, where Sanwo-Olu is the party head.
A source claimed that Tinubu asked, “Is Babajide Sanwo-Olu my leader in Lagos, or was Babatunde Fashola my leader when he was governor?”
Wike is a senior statesman in Rivers politics and should be treated as such, according to the president, who also reportedly remarked that Fubara should respect elders. According to one of the individuals, Tinubu stated unequivocally that personal differences could not be used as an excuse to forfeit political seniority.
Citing his primary concern for Rivers State stability, the president instructed Wike and his team to immediately stop any impeachment-related actions against Fubara as part of the peace agreement.
Fubara was told to make major compromises in exchange. The most important of these was the official acknowledgement of Wike as Rivers State’s “political leader,” with ultimate power over party issues.
According to sources, Tinubu emphasized that Wike must be given the final say in any internal party disagreements in the state.
Wike’s situation is complicated, though, because he does not have an APC card in Rivers State. Despite being a top minister in the ruling APC government, he is officially still a member of the faltering opposition PDP, a position he has exploited to undermine his party.
Additionally, the agreement addressed the impending Rivers State state House of Assembly bye-elections. Tinubu ordered the APC leadership to recognize Wike-aligned candidates for the two open assembly seats. According to one source, “it was explicitly stated that Wike has two candidates for the by-elections and that those candidates are to be recognized by the APC party structure.”
For the controversial by-elections into the state’s Ahoada East II and Khana II State Constituencies, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has already set February 21, 2026 as the date.
It was learnt that while the Ahoada-East II seat became vacant following the resignation of its former occupant, Edison Ehie, who was appointed Chief of Staff (CoS) to Governor Fubara, the Khana II seat was vacant since the death of its lawmaker, Dinebari Loolo, in September 2023.
According to the source, the delicate topic of Fubara’s desire for a second term was also discussed but purposefully avoided because the president allegedly stated that such talks were too soon. According to one source, Tinubu said it was still too early to discuss the state’s 2027 governorship.
