Rivers State governor Siminalayi Fubara and the federal capital territory minister, Nyesom Wike, left Nigeria’s presidential villa together late on Sunday night after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, officials familiar with the discussions have said.
According to presidency sources, the two men – whose rivalry has dominated politics in the oil-rich Rivers state for nearly two years – arrived separately at the villa but departed in the same vehicle after Tinubu’s intervention.
The gesture, described by officials as symbolic, has been interpreted as a possible sign of reconciliation between the estranged political allies.
“Two of them did not come together. Fubara came first, then Wike came later,” one source said. “But at the end of the day, both of them left the Villa together in the same vehicle. Doesn’t that mean they both settled?”
Another official confirmed that the meeting took place, but declined to reveal what was discussed.
“Yes, he met them yesterday night. It is true,” the source said. “The two of them settled. He talked to two of them. But I can’t tell you what he said.”
The Nation newspaper was first to report the meeting early on Monday, claiming that Fubara later accompanied Wike to his Guzape residence in Abuja.
The development could mark a significant turning point in Rivers state’s political crisis, which has repeatedly paralysed governance and fuelled instability in one of Nigeria’s most strategically important regions.
The feud began shortly after Fubara assumed office in May 2023, following Wike’s departure as governor. Wike, widely seen as Fubara’s political benefactor, soon fell out with his successor as competing loyalties and power structures emerged.
Tensions escalated dramatically in October 2023 when members of the Rivers state house of assembly loyal to Wike initiated impeachment proceedings against the governor.
Fubara responded by demolishing the assembly complex after a suspicious fire, relocating legislative sittings to temporary quarters. The standoff plunged the state into a prolonged crisis of governance.
In December 2023, Tinubu intervened and brokered a fragile peace agreement, under which Fubara conceded several political appointments to Wike’s loyalists. But the truce quickly collapsed and the conflict resurfaced.
The dispute reached a new peak on 18 March 2025 when Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers, suspending the governor’s executive powers for an initial six-month period. The president cited insecurity and administrative paralysis, and appointed a sole administrator, the former chief of naval staff Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd).
Tinubu later eased tensions again, leading to the end of emergency rule in September 2025. Yet political hostilities persisted, with Fubara and the Martin Amaewhule-led house of assembly locked in renewed confrontation.
In recent months, the assembly issued another impeachment notice against the governor, keeping Rivers on edge.
Sunday night’s meeting, and the image of both men leaving the villa together, has now raised fresh hopes that the presidency may be close to engineering a more lasting settlement.
