President Bola Tinubu on Thursday held a high-level reconciliation meeting with key political figures from Rivers State, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, and Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule.
The closed-door meeting, which took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, also had in attendance several lawmakers from the Rivers State Assembly. According to Channels Television, the intervention by the President appears to be a decisive step toward resolving the protracted political crisis that has engulfed the state in recent months.
Recall that President Tinubu had, on March 18, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and the entire state Assembly, citing escalating insecurity and an irreconcilable breakdown in governance.
Thursday’s meeting marks the first public appearance of Governor Fubara with President Tinubu since the suspension. It also represents a significant shift in tone, as images from the meeting showed the President smiling alongside Fubara and Wike — a symbolic gesture suggesting a thaw in previously frosty relations.
One of the most telling images captured the FCT Minister and Governor Fubara walking side by side, flanked by Speaker Amaewhule and other lawmakers, further fueling optimism about a political resolution.
Although no official statement has been released from the Presidency or any of the participants, sources indicate that the state of emergency in Rivers may soon be lifted, signaling a potential return to normalcy in the oil-rich state.
A group picture of Mr President at the Center with Suspended Governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara, FCT Wike and other members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and Stakeholders from the State.
From left Governor Fubara, President Tinubu at the Middle and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike at the right
Governor Fubara in a handshake with Rivers State Assembly Speaker Martin Chike Amaewhule
Fubara, Wike and other Stakeholders of the state at the Villa.
