President Bola Ahmed Tinubu reportedly met with the suspended Rivers State’s Governor Siminalayi Fubara in London.
The meeting, according to The Africa Report, was held at the request of Governor Fubara currently under suspension after the Nigerian President declared a State of Emergency on Rivers State in March.
Tinubu returned to Nigeria on Monday night.
The UK meeting was the first face-to-face between both men since Tinubu invoked Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution on March 18, declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State and removing Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, from office.
Tinubu’s national broadcast on March 18 cited “months of intense political instability” that had “paralysed governance” and “threatened national stability.”
He appointed Navy Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as sole administrator.
Opposition governors from seven PDP-controlled states immediately filed a suit at the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of the proclamation and calling for a return to democratic governance.
Tinubu, who was in Paris and then London from 2nd April, agreed to meet with Fubara in an effort to defuse the ongoing crisis.
Officials said the pair discussed restoring a functional government in the oil-rich state.
Although neither side disclosed specific details, presidential aides who spoke on condition of anonymity said the talks focused on the possibility of Fubara returning to office before the end of his six-month suspension.
The President returned to Abuja on Monday night after spending 18 days abroad.
It was learnt that Fubara’s estranged political godfather, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, was not part of the meeting and was reportedly uneasy about such discussions taking place without him.
