•No more acrimony, says Wike after Tinubu hosts peace meeting with Fubara
President Bola Tinubu’s latest peace offensive in Abuja has, on the surface, brought a dramatic end to the bitter feud that has riven Rivers State’s political elite.
In a closed-door session at the Presidential Villa on Thursday night, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara reportedly “buried the hatchet”, pledging to work together “as members of the same political family” and ending months of rancour that threatened governance in Nigeria’s oil-rich heartland.
The reconciliation follows the most heavy-handed federal intervention in recent history.
On 18 March 2025, President Tinubu declared a six-month state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu and the entire State Assembly, and installing retired Navy Chief Ibok-Ete Ibas as sole administrator.
Framed by the Presidency as a “temporary constitutional intervention”, the move sparked fierce debate over federal overreach and constitutional propriety, and is now the subject of litigation at the Supreme Court.
At stake beyond mere political prestige is the future of Nigeria’s oil output. Rivers State pumps an estimated 344,000 barrels of crude per day, making it the nation’s third-largest producer after Akwa Ibom and Delta.
The Nigeria Economic Summit Group has warned that achieving the federal government’s target of 2.2 million barrels per day hinges on stability in the Niger Delta, particularly Rivers State.
Protracted political crises and militant attacks on pipelines—such as the Trans-Niger Pipeline, which carries roughly 32% of the country’s oil exports—have repeatedly derailed production and undermined revenue forecasts.
Critics, however, charge that Tinubu’s peace meetings are little more than political theatre.
A previous accord brokered in December 2023 collapsed within weeks, giving way to court battles and renewed hostilities that stalled local governance and budgetary cycles.
Detractors argue that without addressing the root causes—allegations of patronage, the fight for control of state resources, and the fractured loyalty within the People’s Democratic Party—any truce will be fleeting.
Yet the optics of Thursday’s meeting were undeniably powerful.
In a joint statement, Wike declared “there’s no more acrimony”, while Fubara lauded the “special grace of God” that had restored peace and vowed to “sustain it this time around”.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, framed the event as proof of Tinubu’s “continued commitment to stability in the oil-rich state”.
For Rivers citizens, weary of disruptions to salaries, contracts and public services, the renewed détente offers a glimmer of hope.
But with key legal questions unresolved and fresh fractures likely beneath the surface, observers will watch closely to see if this reconciliation endures—or if it’s merely the latest act in a saga of power, privilege and petro-politics.
