Tinubu orders Gov Fubara to bow to Wike, stops impeachment plot

President Bola Tinubu has reportedly stepped in once again to halt moves to impeach Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, ordering an immediate stop to all impeachment proceedings against him.

According to a report aired on ARISE News on Tuesday, the president’s intervention came with strict political conditions, including a directive that Governor Fubara must formally recognise his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, as the undisputed political leader in Rivers State.

ARISE TV reported that Tinubu’s latest move was aimed at defusing the prolonged political crisis in the oil-rich state, which has pitched Fubara against Wike in a bitter power struggle that has paralysed governance and divided the state legislature.

Sources quoted in the broadcast disclosed that Tinubu issued the directive shortly before departing Nigeria for an official visit to Türkiye on January 26, 2026, following renewed impeachment threats against the governor.

The president was said to have ordered Wike and his loyalists in the Rivers State House of Assembly to immediately abandon all impeachment plans, warning that continued political warfare would destabilise the state and undermine governance.

However, ARISE TV reported that Tinubu made it clear that the truce would only hold if Fubara made major concessions — chief among them, recognising Wike as the political leader of Rivers State with final authority over party affairs.

The president was quoted as insisting that political seniority must be respected, describing Wike as an elder statesman whose influence in Rivers politics could not be wished away despite personal disagreements.

The rift between Fubara and Wike began shortly after Fubara’s inauguration in May 2023, following moves by the governor to assert independence from his former benefactor. The fallout led to repeated impeachment threats, legislative gridlock, and eventually a six-month state of emergency declared by Tinubu in March 2025.

ARISE TV further reported that the peace deal also covers the upcoming Rivers State House of Assembly by-elections. Tinubu reportedly directed the APC leadership to recognise candidates loyal to Wike for the vacant Ahoada East II and Khana II constituencies.