A political analyst, Mahmud Jega, has cautioned that President Bola Tinubu’s reported intervention in the lingering political crisis between Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, could further entrench the conflict rather than bring it to an end.
Speaking on the controversy, Jega argued that the president’s alleged position risks complicating party structures and deepening political fault lines in Rivers State.
“As far as I can see, President Tinubu’s intervention will perpetuate the crisis instead of resolving it,” Jega said.
He faulted claims that Wike remains the undisputed political leader of Rivers State, insisting that such a stance contradicts the All Progressives Congress (APC) constitution, which recognizes serving governors as the party’s leaders in their respective states.
“To say that Wike is the undisputed political leader in Rivers contradicts the APC constitution, as recently emphasized by the party’s National Secretary and National Chairman that governors are the leaders of the party in their states,” he said.
Jega further questioned the logic of elevating Wike’s influence in Rivers politics despite the former governor not being a member of the APC.
“You are saying that Wike is the leader when he is not even a member of the APC. That says a lot. Even the National Secretary had said that if Wike wanted to join the APC, he could, otherwise he should not meddle,” Jega noted.
According to the analyst, reports suggesting that the president has endorsed Wike’s continued political relevance in Rivers—despite his affiliation with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)—could signal a broader political strategy rather than a peace effort.
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“But the President seems to be saying, if this report is correct, that Wike remaining in the PDP and what he’s doing there has his blessing, because he is essentially there to weaken the PDP as an opposition party in the service of the President’s 2027 re-election ambitions,” Jega said.
He warned that such an approach could blur party boundaries and undermine democratic norms, describing it as unprecedented in Nigeria’s political history.
“This does not look like an attempt to solve the problem. Instead, it appears to hand over control to Minister Wike to continue playing the role of political leader in Rivers across both the APC and PDP. This has never happened in Nigeria’s political history,” Jega added.
The crisis between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, has continued to generate tension in Rivers State, with observers warning that prolonged instability could affect governance, party cohesion, and democratic processes in the oil-rich state.