A major breakthrough appears to have been achieved in the prolonged political crisis rocking Rivers State as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and suspended Rivers Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, reached a truce following a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. The high-level reconciliation effort, which took place on Thursday, also included the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and other state lawmakers.
The meeting, brokered by President Tinubu, brought together the principal actors whose feud had led to the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State on March 18, 2025. At the time, Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and the entire state assembly, citing their inability to cooperate and escalating insecurity in the state. An interim administrator was appointed to oversee the state’s affairs and facilitate reconciliation.
Sources familiar with the discussions revealed that the parties agreed to put aside their differences in the interest of peace and stability in Rivers State. Photographs from the meeting showed Tinubu, Wike, Fubara, and the lawmakers in good spirits, with Fubara and Amaewhule even seen holding hands and sharing jokes an image interpreted as a significant step toward genuine reconciliation.
Earlier the same day, Fubara also met separately with Amaewhule and other aggrieved lawmakers in Abuja. That session reportedly ended on a friendly note, with both sides expressing a commitment to further dialogue and peace-building.
While details of the truce have not been made public, the development signals a possible end to the political impasse that has paralyzed governance in Rivers State since late 2023. It remains to be seen whether the truce will lead to the reversal of political decisions taken during the crisis, but the renewed dialogue offers hope for a return to stability and effective governance in the oil-rich state.
