President Bola Tinubu has reportedly moved to douse rising political tensions in Rivers State, directing an immediate suspension of impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara amid his deepening feud with former governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The intervention follows renewed impeachment threats by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly aligned with Wike, who in January initiated proceedings against Fubara over allegations of misconduct, including the alleged spending of funds not appropriated in the state budget.
According to reports, the president acted shortly before departing Nigeria for an official visit to Türkiye on January 26, issuing firm political directives aimed at restoring calm in the oil-rich state, which is widely regarded as strategically important ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Sources familiar with the development said Tinubu ordered lawmakers to immediately suspend all impeachment actions against the governor but coupled the directive with conditions intended to reset the political balance in the state.
Central to the president’s message was a clear warning to Governor Fubara that Wike remains the dominant political force in Rivers State and should be accorded due recognition, regardless of party lines. Tinubu was said to have stressed that Wike’s influence cuts across both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) structures in the state.
The president was also reported to have cautioned that the lingering hostilities between the two camps were beginning to erode governance and could plunge the state into further instability—an outcome he reportedly said would not be tolerated.
This is not the first time Tinubu has intervened in the Rivers crisis. In December 2023, he brokered a truce between Fubara and Wike, an agreement that later collapsed. The breakdown of that peace deal eventually culminated in the declaration of a six-month state of emergency in Rivers on March 18, 2025, during which Governor Fubara was suspended.
In the latest round of talks, Tinubu was also said to have issued a direct instruction to Wike to step back from any impeachment agenda and allow the elected government in Rivers State to function without further disruption.
The renewed presidential involvement underscores growing concern at the centre over the political volatility in Rivers State and its potential implications for governance and national stability.