President Bola Tinubu is reportedly preparing to reinstate the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, and the Rivers State House of Assembly later this month, following the successful brokering of a truce between Fubara and his predecessor, current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Presidency sources said that Tinubu is considering Fubara’s return to office after a closed-door reconciliation meeting held Thursday night at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The meeting was attended by both Fubara and Wike, alongside the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and several lawmakers.
The Rivers State political crisis escalated on March 18, 2025, when President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state, suspending Governor Fubara, his deputy, and all members of the State House of Assembly for six months.
In a national broadcast, Tinubu cited “disturbing security reports” detailing pipeline vandalism by militants, which he said the governor failed to address. He emphasized that he could not allow the “grave situation” to persist unchecked.
Responding to inquiries about the expected timing of the reinstatement, a Presidency insider stated, “At the latest, Fubara should resume as Rivers State Governor this month. Once the President returns from his visits to Saint Lucia and Brazil, he will make the formal announcement.”
President Tinubu departed Abuja on Saturday for a two-nation diplomatic visit. He will attend the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 6–7 after engagements in Saint Lucia.
A separate source confirmed that during the Thursday night meeting, Tinubu personally informed Fubara that he should “start preparing to return to office” as part of a final reconciliation arrangement with Wike.
While there have been speculations that the governor’s reinstatement may be conditional on his resignation shortly after, a Presidency source dismissed this. “That’s not true. No such condition was given. In every conflict resolution, there are terms, but asking Fubara to resign after being reinstated was never one of them,” the source said.
However, it is reported that the reconciliation deal does, in fact, come with significant limitations on Fubara’s authority. According to sources familiar with the agreement, the conditions include: no second term bid for Fubara, no control over local government administration and a general reduction in his political influence.
