The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on Sunday evening led members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the 23 local government chairmen to a closed-door meeting with Governor Siminalayi Fubara at his private residence in Port Harcourt.
The agenda of the meeting has not been made public. It was the first time Wike and the lawmakers would visit the governor at his residence.
The delegation, which also included other members of the Rainbow Coalition, was led by the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt Hon. Martin Amaewhule. The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for the 2027 governorship election, Kingsley Chinda, was also present.
The visit followed an earlier meeting some weeks ago, when Wike led members of the coalition, including Chinda, to meet Fubara.
Sources said Sunday’s meeting was a continuation of talks between the Wike and Fubara camps, aimed at building on ongoing reconciliation efforts in the state. It was also learnt that the meeting was meant to help put the political crisis behind the state and explore how to accommodate Fubara’s loyalists in the new political arrangement ahead of 2027.
Sources added that Wike, Fubara, the lawmakers, the council chairmen and other coalition members all left the meeting smiling.
At the entrance, where the delegation took photographs, a video captured Amaewhule and others greeting and shaking hands with the governor, bowing and addressing him as “Your Excellency.” Fubara returned the greetings with smiles before rejoining his political godfather, Wike, for a group photograph.
Fubara and the Amaewhule-led Assembly were locked in a bitter feud during the political crisis that lasted more than two years, stemming from a prolonged disagreement between the governor and his predecessor, Wike.
During the crisis, the lawmakers twice tried to impeach the governor before President Bola Tinubu intervened by declaring a state of emergency in the state and suspending the governor and other elected officials.
Despite the apparent reconciliation, Wike, the political leader of the group, had ruled out a second term for Fubara and handed the party’s ticket to Chinda.
However, with the 2027 polls approaching, Wike has moved to reunite leaders of both camps.
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