Rivers State’s suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara reportedly recently visited the Abuja residence of his estranged godfather and Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to beg for forgiveness and reconciliation.
The visit came a few days after Fubara held a meeting in London with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the raging political feud between the two Rivers indigenes, that finally culminated into the declaring of emergency rule in the oil-rich Rivers.
The emergency rule declaration led to the suspending of Fubara and other elected officials for an initial six months.
Fubara was led to Wike’s residence by Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and Olusegun Osoba, a former governor of Ogun.
“Fubara was brought to the minister’s house on Friday, 18 April. He prostrated for Wike while holding his legs and calling him, ‘My Oga’,” one of the sources said.
“He was in Wike’s house till the wee hours of Saturday, 19 April,” the source added.
The meeting outcome remains a secret, as those familiar with it have been unwilling to speak. Still, our reporter gathered that Fubara was told to assemble his supporters in Rivers, especially the elders, and tell them the “truth” about his feud with Wike.
Wike’s spokesperson, Lere Olayinka, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that the meeting occurred, but said he was not privy to what was discussed.
When contacted, Nelson Chukwudi, a spokesperson to Fubara, said, “I don’t respond to this kind of enquiry. You can contact the commissioner for information.”
The Commissioner for Information in Rivers, Joseph Johnson, did not respond to calls from our reporter.
Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, fell apart in less than six months after Fubara assumed office as governor.
The political crisis split the state’s legislature into two factions, with 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike and three to Fubara.
The governor had recognised the three-member faction because he believed the others “lost” their seats in the assembly since they had “defected” from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
However, the 28 February 2025 Supreme Court judgement tipped the balance of power in favour of Wike and his allies.
The court reinstated the pro-Wike faction as the legitimate Rivers assembly, stopped federal allocations to the state, and nullified the local elections earlier conducted by Fubara’s administration.
PREMIUM TIMES
