Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has made a stunning revelation about the political crisis in Rivers State, disclosing that Governor Siminalayi Fubara agreed to forgo a second term in exchange for halting an impeachment process that was actively underway against him in the state House of Assembly. Wike made the remarks on Monday, 25 May 2026, while inspecting infrastructure projects in Abuja, shortly after Fubara withdrew from the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary.
The FCT minister asserted that he was not surprised by the governor’s withdrawal, which Fubara had publicly attributed to “conviction and sacrifice for the state to move forward in peace and unity”. According to Wike, the move was simply the late fulfilment of a longstanding political bargain that should have prevented Fubara from even obtaining the APC nomination form in the first place. “In the first place, he ought not to have collected the form, because the agreement was reached that the impeachment should be dropped, while he should also not talk about a second tenure,” Wike stated.
The agreement was struck at the peak of a protracted power tussle between the two leaders, which climaxed in the Rivers State House of Assembly serving impeachment notices on the governor and his deputy over allegations of gross misconduct. Wike revealed that the conflict became so volatile that President Bola Tinubu intervened on multiple occasions to broker a peace deal. The final understanding, Wike explained, was that the governor would abandon any ambition for a second term in 2027 in return for dropping the impeachment proceedings against him.
Wike, however, accused Fubara of breaching the “spirit of gentlemanliness” by initially picking up the APC nomination form weeks before the primary election, a move he described as a betrayal of trust. “We thought that Mr. President had been intervening severally and pleading with the legislature not to continue with impeachment, but whatever it is, he has withdrawn, and somebody has emerged as a governorship candidate for the APC,” Wike said. The APC’s new governorship candidate in Rivers State is Hon. Kingsley Chinda, a House of Representatives member and long-time political ally of the minister.
Despite the months of tension and uncertainty, the FCT minister expressed full confidence in his party’s new flagbearer, describing Chinda as an experienced product who “markets himself” and has both legislative and executive exposure to lead the state. Governor Fubara, in his own withdrawal statement released on 20 May 2026, claimed his decision was purely personal and necessary to ensure peace and unity in Rivers State ahead of the elections.
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