There are very strong indications that Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State and members of the State House of Assembly who have been on suspension following the declaration of emergency rule will be returning very soon.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Democracy Day address at the National Assembly skipped any mention of the Rivers crisis fuelling anxiety that the crisis may still linger.
But the meeting on Thursday night where President Tinubu met with the parties to the Rivers crisis was a pointer that peace is in sight or that a peace deal had been sealed.
Since October 2023, Rivers State was thrown into a political crisis as Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike who yielded the governorship seat to Fubara fell apart over irreconcilable differences.
The rift between Fubara and Wike spread to the state House of Assembly which attempted to impeach the Governor.
The crisis escalated and led to the declaration of state of emergency in the state by president Tinubu on March 18, 2025, suspending the Governor, his deputy and members of the House of Assembly
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To fill the void created by the state of emergency, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas, (rtd) was appointed as Sole Administrator to oversee the state for six months in the first instance.
The crisis in the state has has a telling effect on the socio-economic development of the state as many government activities literally shut down especially after the declaration of state of emergency.
Rivers people will heave a sigh of relief following the peace deal brokered by the president and the state will bounce back as a business hub and leading oil and gas producing state in Nigeria.
A very sad chapter in the political, socio-economic life of the oil rich state is about to be closed.
