Rivers Crisis: Tinubu meets with Fubara in London
There were strong indications on Tuesday that President Bola Tinubu met with suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, during the President’s working visit to Europe.
According to The Africa Report, the meeting was initiated by Fubara, but the Presidency has remained tight-lipped, declining to confirm or comment on the encounter despite several inquiries.
An insider described the meeting as significant, marking the first face-to-face discussion between Tinubu and Fubara since the President declared a state of emergency in Rivers State.
In his March 18 national broadcast, Tinubu cited “months of intense political instability” that had crippled governance and threatened national unity as the reason for the emergency declaration and the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok‑Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd) as the state’s sole administrator.
Sources say the meeting was an attempt to defuse political tensions and seek a path toward restoring functional governance in the oil-rich state. Discussions reportedly included the possibility of Fubara’s reinstatement.
Notably absent from the talks was FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Fubara’s estranged political mentor, who is said to be uneasy about the meeting’s potential outcomes.
