PORT HARCOURT, Rivers State — October 19, 2026
By Ibrahim Kegbegbe
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the state’s 23 local government chairmen have met with Governor Siminalayi Fubara in Port Harcourt as efforts to strengthen political reconciliation continue ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The meeting took place on Sunday at Fubara’s private residence, with the delegation led by Wike and including the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the state, Kingsley Chinda.
The latest engagement followed an earlier meeting involving Wike, Chinda and other political leaders with Fubara and his supporters, as stakeholders continued efforts to rebuild relations between the two political camps.
According to reports, the discussions were aimed at consolidating the reconciliation process, building on previous engagements and exploring ways to accommodate Fubara’s loyalists within the state’s evolving political arrangement. However, details of the latest meeting were not immediately made public.
The meeting comes after more than two years of political disagreements between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, which strained relations between the governor and members of the state legislature.
The crisis escalated in 2023, with lawmakers making moves to impeach the governor amid the prolonged disagreement. Tensions also surrounded the state House of Assembly complex, where a section of the building was damaged by an explosion in October that year.
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In March 2025, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, resulting in the suspension of the governor, his deputy and members of the state legislature. The emergency administration lasted six months, after which the elected officials returned to office.
The renewed engagement between Wike, Fubara, lawmakers and local government chairmen represents another attempt to sustain political dialogue in the state. Whether the discussions will produce a lasting settlement and clarify the place of Fubara’s supporters in the political arrangements ahead of the 2027 elections remains to be seen.
The Merit Newspaper reports that the latest meeting has brought key figures from the previously divided political camps together again, although the participants have yet to publicly disclose the specific resolutions reached.
