Peace Efforts: Tinubu Requests Wike to Halt Fubara Impeachment

President Bola Tinubu has once more stepped in to put an end to the growing conflict between Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, and Nyesom Wike, his predecessor and estranged godfather.

The state was on the verge of governorship impeachment, legislative paralysis, and protracted instability as a result of months of unsuccessful settlements.

The president had previously mediated a precarious peace between Fubara and Wike in December 2023, but it quickly collapsed, prompting Tinubu to declare a six-month emergency rule in the state on March 18, 2025, and suspend the governor.

However, Tinubu ordered an immediate suspension of any impeachment proceedings against Fubara, subject to very strict conditions, in an effort to defuse one of the nation’s most explosive political disputes in recent years.

Tinubu, who took action shortly before leaving for an official trip to Turkey on January 26, established the political conditions intended to bring peace back between the two main political players in Rivers State, a state that is thought to be crucial to the president’s reelection in 2027, according to several well-placed sources with knowledge of the matter.

With his intervention, Tinubu sent Fubara a clear message: Wike must be respected as the undisputed political leader of the party, whether it is the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or the APC in Rivers State.

Despite his prior efforts, it was reported that the president, clearly unhappy with the extent of the rift, warned that further hostilities would weaken state governance and cause instability, which Tinubu said he was not prepared to tolerate.

According to reports, Tinubu explicitly instructed Wike to abandon any plans to remove Fubara from office and permit state governance.

Within months of the governor’s inauguration in May 2023, Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, had a cat-and-mouse relationship. The governor has resisted what many perceive to be the FCT minister’s chokehold on him, while Wike, who personally orchestrated Fubara’s emergence as his successor, has attempted to control the levers of power from Abuja.

As the governor discreetly attempted to assert his independence, the relationship started to deteriorate within months of Fubara’s inauguration, with state political actors swiftly taking sides. Notably, nearly every state legislator supports Wike in the ongoing battle.

The House of Assembly’s pro-Wike faction then started making attempts to remove Fubara from office. The governor has made multiple attempts to avoid the situation, but each time he disagrees with the minister, the possibility of impeachment looms large.

There have been numerous attempts to end the crisis, but none of them have resulted in enduring peace. The oil-rich state declared a state of emergency that lasted for six months after one of the peace negotiations failed.

Fubara’s supporters contend that a former governor who is now an FCT minister cannot govern Rivers State from outside the state, despite Wike’s camp’s ongoing accusations of political ingratitude and betrayal.

One insider described the president’s thoughts regarding the most recent attempt to put an end to the protracted scandal, comparing it to Lagos State, where Sanwo-Olu is the party leader.

A source claimed that Tinubu said, “Is Babajide Sanwo-Olu my leader in Lagos, or was Babatunde Fashola my leader when he was governor?”

According to reports, the president also said that Fubara should show respect for elders, citing Wike as an elder statesman in Rivers politics who deserves to be treated as such. According to one of the sources, Tinubu stated unequivocally that personal differences could not be used as an excuse to give up political seniority.

As part of the peace agreement, the president cited his primary concern for Rivers State stability and ordered Wike and his team to immediately stop any impeachment-related actions against Fubara.

In exchange, Fubara was told to make important compromises. Wike’s official recognition as Rivers State’s “political leader,” with ultimate power over party matters, was the most important of these.

Tinubu emphasized, according to sources, that Wike must be given the final say in all internal party matters in the state.

Wike’s issue is complicated, though, because he does not have an APC card in Rivers State. Despite being a prominent minister in the ruling APC government, he is officially still a member of the faltering opposition PDP. He has utilized this position to undermine the PDP.

Additionally, the agreement addressed the forthcoming Rivers State state House of Assembly bye-elections. Tinubu ordered the APC leadership to acknowledge Wike-aligned candidates for the two open assembly seats. According to one source, “it was made clear that Wike has two candidates for the by-elections and that the APC party structure is to recognize those candidates.”

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has already set February 21, 2026, as the date for the controversial by-elections into the state’s Ahoada East II and Khana II State Constituencies.

It was revealed that although the Ahoada-East II seat became vacant following the resignation of its former occupant, Edison Ehie, who was appointed Chief of Staff (CoS) to Governor Fubara, the Khana II seat was vacant since the death of its lawmaker, Dinebari Loolo, in September 2023.

Remarkably, the delicate subject of Fubara’s desire for a second term was also discussed, but the source claimed that the president purposefully avoided it, claiming that such talks were premature at this time. According to one source, Tinubu indicated that any discussion regarding the state’s 2027 governorship was still too early.