BY GODWIN OBI
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has announced that he and his predecessor, Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, have agreed to end their bitter political feud following the intervention of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Fubara, in a statewide broadcast from Port Harcourt on Friday, said the reconciliation was necessary to restore stability and chart a new course for the oil-rich state.
“In the course of the six-month period, Mr President graciously brokered the peace process with all the parties successfully. Our leader, His Excellency Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, CON, all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and I, as your governor, have all accepted to bury the hatchet and embrace peace and reconciliation in the best interest of our dear Rivers State,” he declared.
The governor acknowledged that the political crisis had tested the state’s resilience but added that it had also offered lessons for the political class.
“We believe the political crisis is now behind us and that peace and stability have once again returned to Rivers State, though not without the hard lessons learnt from the emergency rule,” Fubara said.
Emergency Rule Lifted
The governor’s broadcast followed President Tinubu’s decision to lift the six-month state of emergency imposed on Rivers in March 2025, a drastic measure that suspended Fubara, his deputy, and the State House of Assembly amid escalating tensions.
From Loyalty to Feud
What began as a relationship of loyalty quickly degenerated into one of the fiercest political rivalries in Nigeria’s recent history. During his inauguration in May 2023, Fubara had famously pleaded with Wike: “Please don’t be too far from me because I know the sharks, the tigers are really around looking for what to hurt.”
But within months, Rivers became a theatre of chaos — impeachment plots, bomb attacks, and the defection of 25 lawmakers threw the state into turmoil.
Fubara later attributed the rift to “the issue of power and control,” insisting that attempts to obstruct duly elected local council chairmen exposed the root cause of the crisis.
Wike, however, accused his successor of betrayal, claiming that Fubara deliberately sidelined his allies and blocked them from accessing contracts, funds, and political patronage.
Tinubu’s Intervention
As the crisis deepened, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency, citing security lapses and pipeline vandalism allegedly left unchecked by the governor. “I could not allow the grave situation to continue,” the president had said in a national broadcast.
Now, with both camps pledging reconciliation, Rivers people wait to see whether this truce will hold — or if the fragile peace will be tested once again.
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2025-09-18