The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed doubt about the genuity of a reconciliation effort recently made by the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Fubara recently visited his predecessor, Mr Wike, at his Abuja residence to beg for reconciliation amid the political feud between them.
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The feud between them had culminated in the suspension of the governor, declaration of emergency rule and appointment of Ibok-Ete Ibas as the sole administrator in the oil-rich state.
Sources had told this newspaper that Mr Fubara was led to Mr Wike’s residence by Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and Olusegun Osoba, a former governor of Ogun.
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“Fubara was brought to the minister’s house on Friday, 18 April. He prostrated for Wike while holding his legs and calling him, ‘My Oga’,” one of the sources had said.
Wike on women Protest in Rivers
On Friday, dozens of women, walked out on Theresa Ibas, wife of the Rivers Sole Administrator, Mr Ibas, during an Empowerment Programme organised by Nigerian First Lady, Remi Tinubu.
The drama started when Mrs Ibas was introduced as a representative of Mrs Tinubu which caused the women to flare up and demanded that Governor Fubara’s wife should represent the first lady instead.
Mr Wike, in a statement on Saturday by his spokesperson Lere Olayinka, condemned the incident, describing it as “sponsored.”
The FCT minister claimed those who took part in the walkout were a group of women loyal to Mr Fubara.
“(An) insult on anyone representing the First Lady of Nigeria in an event is a direct insult to the office of the President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and as a leader in Rivers State, I apologise,” Mr Olayinka quoted Mr Wike as saying.
The FCT minister, according to the statement, asked Mr Fubara to demonstrate honesty by being bold enough to tell President Tinubu, “what exactly he (Fubara) wanted, rather than saying something today, and doing another thing tomorrow.”
“It is not enough to be visiting people to plead for peace. Those who genuinely want peace work and act for it,” Mr Wike said, apparently referring to Mr Fubara’s visit to his Abuja residence for reconciliation.
Continuing, the FCT minister said: “These are the same people pleading for peace, but at the same time doing things that are contrary to what they are pleading for.
“How can you say you want peace and at the same time, you are sponsoring people to insult everyone, including the president and his wife?
“All those shenanigans won’t bring peace, and I am sure they know that, because they are not sincere with their up and down pleadings for peace.
“As for me and those who subscribe to my leadership, we condemn in totality that yesterday’s show of shame and we apologise to our First Lady for the embarrassing conduct of those few women who do not represent the characters and ideals of the people of Rivers State.”
Background
The feud between Messrs Fubara and Wike began less than six months after Mr Fubara assumed office as governor.
The feud later split the state’s legislature into two factions, with 27 lawmakers loyal to Mr Wike and three to Mr Fubara.
The governor had recognised the three-member faction because he believed the others “lost” their seats in the assembly since they had “defected” from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
However, the 28 February 2025 Supreme Court judgement tipped the balance of power in favour of Mr Wike and his allies.
The court reinstated the pro-Wike faction as the legitimate Rivers assembly, stopped federal allocations to the state, and nullified the local elections earlier conducted by Mr Fubara’s administration.
On 14 March, the Rivers House of Assembly served a notice of alleged misconduct against Mr Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, as a preliminary step for their impeachment.
In a notice addressed to the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, the 26 lawmakers, among other things, accused Mr Fubara of spending Rivers funds without approval from the state assembly and appointing people to run the government without the required screening and confirmation.
The lawmakers also accused Mr Fubara of hindering or obstructing the assembly from its constitutional functions and seizing salaries, allowances, and funds belonging to lawmakers, the clerk, and the assembly.
READ ALSO: TRENDING: Rivers women walk out on sole administrators wife, demand Fubara’s reinstatement
They accused the Deputy Governor, Mrs Odu, of “conniving and supporting the illegal appointment of persons to occupy offices/positions in the Rivers State Government without allowing for the requirement of screening and confirmation”.
The impeachment plot began about the time Mr Fubara removed the elected chairpersons of the local councils in obedience to the Supreme Court rulings. The governor said he was willing to implement all the Supreme Court’s decisions.
Nigerians have expressed outrage over the emergency rule in Rivers and the removal of Mr Fubara and other elected officials.
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