Oil-rich Nigeria is tense President Bola Tinubu and Governor Siminalayi Fubara participated in tactful diplomacy that might change the region’s leadership, and Rivers State may be abating after weeks of political unrest and protests.
Two of the president’s advisers told The Africa Report that President Tinubu held a private meeting last week with Governor Fubara, who was suspended on March 18, 2025.
The meeting, which was purportedly started by Governor Fubara, who has been keen to return to government since the president proclaimed a state of emergency in Rivers State, took place in London soon after Tinubu returned from Paris.
“It’s accurate. The president and Governor Fubara met in private last week. Fubara pledged to make some concessions. Although negotiations are still in progress, it appears like his ban will be removed before to the six-month mark, a presidential adviser stated to The Africa Report under anonymity.
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According to reports, Fubara is also willing to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in order to curry favor with the president, which might improve the APC’s chances in Rivers State. The aide pointed out that the president’s prospects of winning Rivers State are significantly increased if Fubara joins the APC.
Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Fubara’s estranged political godfather, was apparently not present at the meeting because he feels uneasy about the behind-the-scenes conversations. However, Tinubu is anticipated to arrange a meeting with lawmakers from Rivers State, Fubara, and Wike to discuss the state’s ongoing crisis.
Following the explosion of two oil pipelines on March 18, President Tinubu suspended Fubara, which sparked the political unrest in Rivers State. Security personnel linked the explosion to a conflict between Fubara and 27 Wike-aligned state politicians. Due to allegations of constitutional violations, including those involving the bombing of the state parliament building, these lawmakers attempted to remove the governor from office under Wike’s influence.
In order to prevent further instability, President Tinubu’s administration chose to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State, since oil revenue accounts for about 60% of Nigeria’s government income and 90% of its foreign exchange. Ibok-Ete Ibas, a former naval chief, was given full governorship authority when Tinubu appointed him as Rivers State’s only administrator.
The media, organized labor, the opposition, and the Nigerian Bar Association were among those who criticized the declaration. A prominent opposition member, former vice president Atiku Abubakar, referred to the action as a “power grab” in front of the 2027 election. Despite having previously denounced a similar move by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005, Tinubu stuck to his guns and claimed that he had the constitutional right to proclaim a state of emergency. The Nigerian parliament subsequently approved the announcement.
