Rivers Politics: Fubara Reconciles With Wike as APC, PDP Battle for His Loyalty

Rivers State politics has entered a fresh phase following the reconciliation between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. The truce, brokered after months of hostility, ended the political crisis that had plunged the oil-rich state into emergency rule.

Governor Fubara, who was reinstated on September 17 after President Bola Tinubu lifted the six-month emergency rule, described the peace accord as a turning point. Speaking with newsmen at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday, he declared that “proper peace” had returned to the state.

The feud, which erupted in March between Fubara and Wike’s loyalists in the House of Assembly, triggered impeachment threats, budget blockades, and violent clashes. Tinubu later invoked Section 305 of the Constitution, suspending the governor, his deputy, and lawmakers, and appointing former Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (retd.) as sole administrator.

Even as reconciliation holds, Rivers politics has shifted into a contest for control of the state’s political structure. The All Progressives Congress, buoyed by its sweeping victory in the August local government elections, has intensified efforts to woo the governor. The APC won 20 chairmanship seats and most councillorship positions, giving it grassroots dominance in a state once firmly controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party.

The elections, marked by low turnout and opposition boycotts over alleged irregularities, handed the APC unprecedented leverage ahead of 2027. APC chieftains have openly urged Fubara to defect, with the party’s Deputy National Organising Secretary, Nze Chidi Duru, saying the decision rests with the governor. “If he considers his interests better served in the APC, it is for him to decide. At the appropriate time, the party will respond” he said.

However, the PDP has cautioned against such a move. Deputy National Youth Leader Timothy Osadolor warned that defection would amount to betrayal of the Rivers electorate. “The people freely gave him their mandate under the PDP platform. If he defects, he will be throwing away his goodwill before Rivers people. What he owes them now is good governance” Osadolor told newsmen.

He also condemned Tinubu’s intervention in the crisis, describing the suspension of Fubara and appointment of an administrator as a “brazen rape of the constitution and a threat to democracy.”

Meanwhile, Wike has distanced himself from claims that he is trying to influence Fubara’s administration. “I cannot impose anything on the governor. I have no candidate and will not” the FCT minister said.

Fubara’s return to Rivers was greeted with jubilant celebrations in Port Harcourt, symbolising relief after months of uncertainty. Yet the political battle is far from over. With the APC and PDP locked in a tug-of-war over his loyalty, the governor now faces the delicate task of balancing peace with survival in a state long regarded as a decisive force in Nigeria’s national politics.