President Bola Ahmed Tinubu convened a high-profile closed-door meeting with key political stakeholders from Rivers State on Thursday night in a fresh push to resolve the lingering political crisis in the oil-rich South-South region. The crucial deliberations took place at the Presidential Villa in Abuja and brought together opposing factions in the Rivers political divide.
In attendance were Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike (who previously served as Rivers governor), Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly Martins Amaewhule, and several state lawmakers aligned with Wike’s political camp. Presidential sources revealed the meeting focused on finding lasting solutions to the political impasse that has threatened governance and development in Nigeria’s second-largest oil-producing state.
The closed-door session, which lasted several hours, marked President Tinubu’s most direct intervention yet in the Rivers crisis since tensions escalated between Governor Fubara and Wike’s loyalists in the state assembly. While details of the discussions remained confidential, insiders suggested the talks centered on power-sharing arrangements and the need for political stability in the strategically important state.
This latest peace initiative comes as Rivers State continues to grapple with the fallout from last year’s political realignments that saw the state assembly divided into two factions. The crisis has raised concerns about potential impacts on oil production and economic activities in the Niger Delta region.
