President Bola Tinubu has reportedly re-entered the political fray in Rivers State, moving to calm renewed tensions between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, amid fresh impeachment threats.
According to sources cited by Punch, the President has summoned Wike for talks as part of efforts to resolve the crisis. The meeting is expected to take place outside Nigeria, as Tinubu is currently abroad. Governor Fubara is also said to have travelled overseas earlier in the week, with plans to meet the President in furtherance of reconciliation efforts.
Tinubu had previously intervened in the Rivers political dispute, brokering a temporary truce between the two camps. However, tensions reportedly resurfaced barely three months after the end of emergency measures in the state, with new impeachment moves allegedly initiated by the Rivers State House of Assembly.
A highly placed source disclosed that the President is concerned about the renewed instability and is determined to prevent the situation from spiralling further.
“The President understands the danger in allowing the crisis to escalate. He has summoned Wike for talks, and they are expected to meet abroad. Wike cannot impeach Fubara; the President will call him to order,” the source said.
Meanwhile, a senior official at the ruling party’s national secretariat revealed that party leaders are also discussing how to engage the President on the matter once he returns to the country.
In a related development, an ally of the FCT minister dismissed claims that Wike was orchestrating the impeachment moves against Governor Fubara. Speaking anonymously, the source insisted that Rivers lawmakers were acting independently and not on Wike’s instructions.
The ally also rejected suggestions that Wike was showing disrespect to the President, describing such allegations as misleading.
“People accusing the minister of disrespecting the President are being mischievous. Wike remains a strong supporter of the President. This issue is not about the President,” the source said.
Tinubu’s renewed intervention is widely seen as an attempt to avert further political instability in Rivers State and prevent a breakdown of governance.
