After months of political tension and public uncertainty, fresh hope was rekindled on Thursday, following a rare moment captured in photographs, with President Bola Tinubu, flanked by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and a seemingly reconciled Governor Siminalayi Fubara, smiling for the cameras.
Naijaonpoint reports that the image, which flooded social media, was the latest in the peace meetings convened by President Tinubu to end the prolonged power tussle between Wike and his estranged political son, Fubara.
The crisis, which lasted for nearly two years, led to the President’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers on March 18, 2025, in an effort to stem the rising political tensions that had crippled governance and endangered peace in the oil-rich state.
The political standoff robbed the state of a proper celebration of Governor Fubara’s second year in office on May 29 and the June 12 Democracy Day commemorations.
In the wake of the emergency declaration, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas was installed as Sole Administrator to restore order for an initial six-month term.
Although the latest peace parley, which featured key stakeholders including House of Assembly Speaker Martin Amaewhule, Fubara, and Wike, signalled a positive turn, insiders who spoke with Vanguard disclosed that the governor’s return to office is tied to a series of firm conditions.
According to a reliable source familiar with the terms of the deal, Fubara has agreed not to seek re-election in 2027.
The source said, “Yes, he (Fubara) has agreed to do one term as a condition to his return as governor. This is predicated on the fact that the governor failed to recognise the source that brought him to power. He abandoned his political family to hobnob with Wike’s political enemies and those who never wanted him as governor in 2023.”
Should Fubara uphold this agreement, he will make history as the first democratically elected governor of Rivers State to serve only a single term. His exit in 2027 is expected to clear the path for the emergence of a new, loyal figure from Wike’s political fold.
The source further disclosed that the next candidate would likely hail from the riverine axis of the state, ensuring the rotation of power remains balanced and averting any potential ethnic tensions.
Defection To The APC Also On The Table
In addition to the one-term concession, the peace pact reportedly includes a directive for Fubara to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), aligning himself politically with the Presidency and the FCT Minister.
The defection of Fubara has become a necessity given the fact that PDP has failed to stamp itself as a credible opposition political party in the Tinubu administration.
According to the source, Tinubu wants Fubara to join the trend of PDP Governors who have dumped the party in the South-South geo-political zone.
The source said, “APC wants to get the entire southern Nigeria because there is no guarantee that the North will support Tinubu in 2027.”
Decision On Rivers LG Election Emerges
Naijaonpoint understands that the Sole Administrator of the state, Ibokette Ibas, has already scheduled August 9 for the local government elections in Rivers.
However, reports emerging from the peace meeting held on Thursday revealed that Fubara will conduct the council elections but will not be an active participant.
This is a carefully orchestrated power play that will lend some credibility to the appointment of Michael Odey as the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
The appointment of Odey, an indigene of Cross River State, had sparked disenchantment in the Senate, with some prominent senators, including Senator Alli Ndume, opposing the appointment without regard to Federal Character.
However, Fubara was said to have been told not to nominate any candidate, “not even a councillor”, for the elections. Another source, who was privy to the Thursday night meeting, said that “it is most likely that the former Council Chairmen loyal to Wike may be allowed to come back and complete their second term in the course of the August polls.”
He said that after the council elections, the Supreme Court judgment on the autonomy of local government councils would be upheld to the letter. Accordingly, allocations from the Federation Account will now be distributed directly to the councils, without the governor’s interference.
Fubara Directed To Remove His Political Allies
Fubara was also said to have agreed to ensure the full payment of the outstanding allowances of the 27 House of Assembly lawmakers as a precondition to avoid an impeachment threat by the Amaewhule-led lawmakers.
Also on the table was the condition that the governor must remove the likes of the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, the Chief of Staff, Government House (CoS), Edison Ehie, former Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo, and former commissioners and political appointees.
Accordingly, every appointment must take a fresh start with Wike having the upper hand to nominate who becomes what in government.
This arrangement is to strip the governor of all known political “enemies” of the FCT Minister.
“He is a prodigal son who has come to his senses. He has a political family. He belongs to the Wike political dynasty. He must come home clean. Those people who were hanging around him were the true enemies of the state. They never wanted Fubara as governor, in the first place”, the source said.
This presupposes that the likes of Abiye Sekibo, Uche Secondus, Austin Opara, Celestine Omehia, Dr. Peter Odili and many more have been surgically detached from the governor, going forward.