President Bola Tinubu has stepped in, once again, to stop Rivers State from sliding deeper into political chaos, ordering an immediate halt to impeachment moves against Governor Siminalayi Fubara while laying down tough, no-nonsense conditions for peace, MUK TV has learned.
Insiders say the president’s intervention came just before he departed for an official trip to Türkiye on January 26, following months of failed settlements that had pushed Rivers to the brink of legislative paralysis, instability, and a looming governorship impeachment.
Tinubu had earlier brokered a shaky peace between Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, in December 2023, a truce that collapsed spectacularly and later resulted in the declaration of a six-month emergency rule in the state on March 18, 2025, alongside the suspension of the governor.
This time, sources told THISDAY that the president acted decisively, warning both camps that the crisis had gone too far and must end immediately.
According to multiple highly placed sources, Tinubu ordered Wike to back off all impeachment plans against Fubara and allow governance to return to normal in the oil-rich state.
But the directive came with a heavy price for the embattled governor.
The president reportedly delivered a blunt message to Fubara: Wike remains the undisputed political leader in Rivers State and must be recognised and respected as such, irrespective of party labels.
Tinubu was said to be deeply unhappy that the feud had escalated despite his earlier interventions, warning that continued hostilities would undermine governance and destabilise a state critical to his 2027 re-election calculations.
Fubara and Wike’s political marriage began to unravel barely months after the governor’s inauguration in May 2023.
Wike, who personally engineered Fubara’s emergence, allegedly sought to retain firm control of the political structure from Abuja, while the governor quietly repeled it, thereby polarising Rivers politics.
Most members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are aligned with Wike, a reality that has repeatedly placed impeachment threats over Fubara’s head whenever tensions flare.
Several reconciliation attempts collapsed, culminating in the declaration of emergency rule.
While Wike’s camp accuses Fubara of betrayal and ingratitude, the governor’s allies insist Rivers cannot be run by proxy from Abuja by a former governor now serving as FCT minister.
Explaining Tinubu’s reasoning, a source said the president drew parallels with Lagos politics, where hierarchy is respected.
“Is Babajide Sanwo-Olu my leader in Lagos, or was Babatunde Fashola my leader when he was governor?”
Tinubu was also said to have stressed respect for political seniority, insisting that Wike is an elder statesman in Rivers politics whose influence cannot be wished away due to personal disagreements.
As part of the peace deal, Tinubu directed that all impeachment-related actions against Fubara be stopped immediately.
In return, the governor was instructed to make significant concessions, chief among them, formally recognising Wike as the political leader in Rivers State with final authority on party matters.
Sources said the president was emphatic that all internal party disputes in Rivers must ultimately defer to Wike, despite the complexity of his political status as a PDP member serving as a top minister in an APC-led government.
The agreement also covered the upcoming Rivers State House of Assembly bye-elections.
Tinubu reportedly ordered APC leaders to recognise candidates loyal to Wike for the two vacant seats.
“It was explicitly stated that Wike has two candidates for the by-elections and that those candidates are to be recognised by the APC party structure,” one source said.
INEC has fixed February 21, 2026, for the by-elections into Ahoada East II and Khana II constituencies.
The Ahoada East II seat became vacant after Edison Ehie resigned to become Chief of Staff to Governor Fubara, while the Khana II seat has remained vacant since the death of its lawmaker, Dinebari Loolo, in September 2023.
Sources revealed that Fubara’s second-term ambition was briefly discussed but deliberately shelved, with Tinubu reportedly dismissing 2027 governorship talks as premature.
For now, the president’s message was clear: peace first, politics later; Rivers must not burn.
