There was a wave of excitement and fresh political calculations on Tuesday following reports that President Bola Tinubu held a crucial meeting in London with the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.
Although the meeting was shrouded in secrecy, sources familiar with the development confirmed that it was the first face-to-face encounter between the two since President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state on March 18, suspending Fubara, his deputy Dr. Ngozi Odu, and the entire state House of Assembly.
The Africa Report claimed the meeting was at Fubara’s request, but the Presidency has neither confirmed nor denied the encounter.
Repeated efforts to obtain official comments from Aso Rock yielded no response, as officials maintained a tight-lipped stance.
However, a source privy to the discussion said the meeting was part of a strategic move by Tinubu to de-escalate the months-long political crisis that has engulfed Rivers State and posed a threat to national cohesion.
“This was a calculated step by the President to restore normalcy and avoid further damage to the democratic framework in the South-South,” the source, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, disclosed.
In his nationwide broadcast on March 18, Tinubu had invoked Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to justify his drastic action, citing “months of intense political instability” that had “paralysed governance” and “threatened national stability.”
To fill the power vacuum, the President appointed former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.), as the sole administrator of the state.
Top aides to the President, speaking off record, hinted that the London talks centered on a roadmap for restoring democratic governance in Rivers, with the possibility of Fubara returning to office before his six-month suspension elapses.
Meanwhile, conspicuously absent from the high-level talks was Fubara’s estranged political godfather and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Sources say Wike, who has been at the center of the crisis, is reportedly uneasy about the new rapprochement that excludes him.
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