Tensions in the oil-rich nation of Nigeria After weeks of protests and political unrest, Rivers State might be coming to an end as President Bola Tinubu and Governor Siminalayi Fubara engaged in tactful diplomacy that could change the region’s leadership.
According to two of the president’s aides, President Tinubu held a private meeting this week with Governor Fubara, who was suspended on March 18, 2025, according to The Africa Report.
Governor Fubara, who has been keen to return to power since the president proclaimed a state of emergency in Rivers State, is said to have started the meeting, which was held in London soon after Tinubu returned from Paris.
It’s accurate. Last week, Governor Fubara met with the president in private. Fubara has committed to a few concessions. According to a presidential adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity, “his suspension will be lifted before the six-month deadline, but negotiations are still ongoing.”
In order to win favor with the president, Fubara is also allegedly ready to joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), which might improve the APC’s chances in Rivers State. According to the aide, “the president’s chances of winning Rivers State are much higher if Fubara joins the APC.”
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Nyesom Wike, Fubara’s estranged political godfather and the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was apparently not present at the meeting because he feels uneasy about the behind-the-scenes conversations. However, in order to settle the state’s ongoing crisis, Tinubu is anticipated to arrange a meeting with lawmakers from Rivers State, Fubara, and Wike.
President Tinubu suspended Fubara on March 18 after two oil pipelines exploded, sparking the political unrest in Rivers State. Security officials linked the explosion to a conflict between 27 Wike-aligned state lawmakers and Fubara. Under Wike’s influence, these parliamentarians attempted to remove the governor from office on grounds of suspected constitutional violations, including charges pertaining to the bombing of the state parliament building.
President Tinubu’s administration chose to impose a state of emergency in Rivers State in order to stop additional instability, since oil money accounts for about 60% of Nigeria’s government income and 90% of its foreign exchange. Tinubu gave Ibok-Ete Ibas, a former navy chief, full governorship and designated him as Rivers State’s only administrator.
The Nigerian Bar Association, the opposition, organized labor, and the media were among those who criticized the announcement. Prior to the 2027 election, prominent opposition leader and former vice president Atiku Abubakar referred to the action as a “power grab.” Though he had previously condemned a similar measure taken by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005, Tinubu defended his decision, claiming that he had the constitutional authority to proclaim a state of emergency. Later, the Nigerian parliament approved the declaration.
