Wike insists on single tenure for Fubara
By Ishaya Ibrahim
Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has declared he will not support Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara for a second term, insisting that an agreement was sealed for only one term in office.
Wike made the declaration on Wednesday during a live media chat, where he said Fubara had agreed, in an arbitration brokered by President Bola Tinubu, to serve only one term.
Wike and Fubara have been locked in a bitter power struggle since their relationship collapsed after the 2023 elections. The rift centres on control of state resources and political structures.
The crisis peaked in March 2025 when President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, temporarily suspending Governor Fubara and the state legislature for six months.
After the emergency rule was lifted, Fubara faced impeachment threats from the state legislature, which is dominated by Wike loyalists. President Tinubu intervened again to resolve the situation. As part of the peace deal, Fubara was reportedly persuaded not to seek re-election in 2027. In return, Wike was reportedly given control of the political structures of both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
However, Fubara later defected from the PDP to the APC, apparently seeking the ruling party’s protection against Wike ahead of the 2027 election.
