Rivers Stakeholders Reject Wike-Fubara Peace Deal, Say Reconciliation Lack Fairness, Won’t Last

Rivers Stakeholders Reject Wike-Fubara Peace Deal, Say Reconciliation Lack Fairness, Won’t Last

 

Just days after President Bola Tinubu facilitated a high-level peace meeting in Abuja aimed at resolving the prolonged political crisis in Rivers State, the so-called truce appears to be unraveling.

 

Prominent stakeholders from the oil-rich state have rejected the terms of the reconciliation between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his estranged political benefactor, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike—describing the outcome as “a peace of the graveyard.”

 

The peace parley, held Thursday night at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, brought together Governor Fubara, Wike, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly Martins Amaewhule, and other lawmakers, with President Tinubu presiding. At the end of the closed-door meeting, the parties agreed to a ceasefire and pledged to work together in the interest of peace and governance.

 

However, several political voices in Rivers State have condemned the reconciliation, saying it lacked fairness, transparency, and local representation.

 

“It was not reconciliation; it was surrender,” said Leloonu Nwabubasa, a former Commissioner for Employment and Empowerment in the state. “A meeting without a delegation representing the governor is not balanced. It’s clear Wike is positioning himself for 2027 and wants to maintain control of Rivers politics.”

 

Human rights activist and member of the Rivers State Elders Council, Ann-Kio Briggs, also rejected the agreement, claiming the governor was “thrown under the bus” in a lopsided deal. “This is the peace of the graveyard,” she warned. “The President has turned it into a political issue, even though it concerns the internal affairs of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), not the APC.”

 

Briggs added that the political structure of the state—particularly the unwritten zoning arrangement between the upland and riverine communities—must be respected. “Governor Fubara hasn’t even completed his first term, so talking about cutting it short is an invitation to fresh crisis.”

 

He however charged Governor Fubara to address the people of Rivers State as the basis for the peace reached by the parties during the reconciliation. This expectation from the governor is also the basis of Briggs disagreement with the reconciliation. She disclosed that people have been calling her since the news broke about the presidential intervention to restore peace among the warring parties and all of the callers feel they had been “thrown under the bus.”

 

She added, “I heard the FCT Minister say that peace had returned to Rivers State. It is the peace of the grave-yard. The President, unfortunately, has made it a political issue. He is the leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC. The crisis is about the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The video clip showed the governor standing all by himself and we saw the gladiators he had been fighting around him. All this shows that the crisis has gone back to where it started.”

 

However, the parley, which is believed to mark a turning point in the nearly two-year political standoff that has crippled governance in the oil-rich state, reportedly focused on reconciliation, mutual cooperation and a shared commitment to restoring political stability. Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, Wike expressed optimism about the outcome, emphasising the renewed unity among the state’s political leadership. “We have all agreed to work together with the governor, and the governor has also agreed to work with all of us. We are members of the same political family,” he said. While acknowledging that disagreements are a natural part of politics, Wike stressed that the time had come to put differences aside.

 

“That has been finally concluded today, and we have come to report to Mr. President what we have agreed. For me, everything is over. I encourage everyone who believes in working with us to join hands—there is no more acrimony, nothing left to say,” he added. In his remarks, Governor Fubara expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for facilitating the peace process and underscored the importance of unity for the development of Rivers State.

 

“For me, it is a day to thank Almighty God. It is very important that this day has come. What we need for the progress of Rivers State is peace, and by the special grace of God, this night, with the help of Mr. President and the agreement of the state’s leaders, peace has returned to Rivers State. We will do everything within our power to sustain it this time around,” Fubara said.

 

Post-meeting visuals shared by the Presidency painted a picture of reconciliation. President Tinubu was seen standing between Wike and Fubara, all smiles, while previously feuding lawmakers exchanged handshakes and posed for group photographs—an image in stark contrast to the hostile atmosphere that had long prevailed. It will be recalled that in March, President Tinubu intervened in the crisis by declaring a political emergency in Rivers State, following violent protests, legislative gridlock, and a breakdown in public order stemming from the rift between the governor and the state assembly.

 

Meanwhile, Governor Fubara, FCT Minister, Wike, and the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, made a rare public appearance together on Saturday in Rivers State. Their appearance comes just 48 hours after a renewed peace parley convened at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, aimed at resolving the protracted political standoff in the state.

 

NEWS WEEK NIGERIA reports that the three politicians, who have been at the centre of a nearly two-year-long power tussle in the state, attended the funeral ceremony of Wike’s uncle in Rumuepirikom, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area. The event attracted several political stakeholders from within and outside the state, signalling a possible thaw in tensions following President Bola Tinubu’s intervention. Among the dignitaries at the burial were Senators Allwell Onyesoh, George Thompson Sekibo, and Olaka Nwogu.

 

Also in attendance were former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche; former lawmaker, Ken Chikere; South-South Vice Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Victor Giadom; and former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Sam Sam Jaja. While the public outing is yet to translate into a formal reconciliation, political observers see it as a possible outcome of Tinubu’s peace efforts, which aim to stabilise governance in the oil-rich state. Saturday’s joint appearance by the estranged allies has further fuelled speculation about the prospects of a negotiated political truce.

 

Meanwhile, Governor Fubara, at the weekend appealed to his supporters to embrace the peace deal initiated by President Bola Tinubu as part of efforts to achieve total reconciliation and move the state forward. NEWS WEEK NIGERIA reports that the Governor’s remarks come 48 hours after a fresh round of peace talks at the Presidential Villa in Abuja aimed at ending the prolonged political rift between Fubara and his former political ally, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

 

Speaking on Saturday during a meeting with leaders and stakeholders of the Simplified Movement in Port Harcourt, Fubara acknowledged the role of President Tinubu in brokering the truce and confirmed that he has personally reconnected with Wike. “So, my dear fathers, brothers and sisters, no matter the level of peace that a mediator will arrange, the true peace is the one where both parties sit together and say, ‘Yes, this is what we want,’” Fubara said, adding that, “At this point, I’ve met him and we have spoken. You can’t take away the fact that he’s hurt—he’s human. I also have my share of the pain.

 

“But if we believe we belong to one political family and our goal is to support the President, then we must show it now,” he added.

 

The Governor appealed to his supporters to look beyond personal grievances and consider the broader interest of the state, citing stalled developmental projects as a consequence of the lingering crisis.

 

“In the midst of this crisis between me and the FCT Minister, look at the projects we’ve initiated. Many have been abandoned.

 

“We know the progress we could have made and the areas that could have been developed. So, there is a need for this peace — that’s the truth,” he said.

 

Fubara assured the stakeholders of his continued commitment to their cause, stating that reconciliation does not mean betrayal.

 

“I can’t abandon you people. This is the time for me to prove that I care for you. I make my commitment here that whichever way it goes, I will not abandon anybody,” he said.

 

However, he acknowledged that the path to peace would require sacrifices.

 

He said: “The sacrifice that we are going to make for total peace is going to be heavy. I want everybody to prepare for it. Without reconciliation — which, by the grace of God, both of us have now embraced — there can be no progress in the state.”

 

He concluded with a firm appeal: “I have accepted that we must embrace peace, no matter how it looks, no matter how you feel. We must accept it.”

 

Fubara’s remarks come shortly after he joined Wike at the burial ceremony of the latter’s uncle in Rumuepirikom, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, in what is seen as a public signal of renewed engagement between the estranged political allies.