President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday hosted suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara at his private residence in Bourdillon, Lagos State.
The surprise meeting has sparked speculation about a possible political resolution in the embattled oil-rich state.
The visit, confirmed by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, was announced via a Facebook post. “Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers, now on suspension from office, visited President Bola Tinubu in Lagos on Tuesday,” Onanuga wrote.
Although details of the closed-door meeting were not made public, the discussions may be centered around resolving the long-standing political crisis in Rivers.
The crisis stemmed from disagreement between Fubara and his political godfather and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Wike was Rivers governor from 2015 to 2023 and later helped Fubara to succeed him before both politicians fell out. The meeting also marks the second meeting between the two since Fubara’s suspension, following an earlier one reportedly held in London in April.
Tinubu had, on March 18, invoked Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing “months of intense political instability” that had “paralysed governance” and “threatened national stability.”
Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, were removed from office, and Navy Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas was appointed as sole administrator of the state.
Opposition governors from seven PDP-controlled states had challenged the legality of the emergency proclamation at the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Wike, during a recent media chat in Abuja said he may not be able to make peace with Fubara without the involvement of key parties to the political feud between them.
Both have been locked in a protracted fight over the control of the political structures in Rivers State, which split the state legislature into two factions and led to the declaration of emergency rule in the oil-rich state.
“Will he make peace without the (suspended) assembly members? Will he make peace without the leaders of the party?” Wike asked.
According to the minister, he often weeps whenever he remembers Fubara’s alleged betrayal.
“When I go back in my quiet moments, I play the video of the speeches of the governor, what he said, what he did to me, I weep,” he said.
“This is somebody who brought you, gave you food, gave you everything, did this to you, and then you became a tool for his enemies to fight him,” he stated.
