Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Monday held a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, amid intensifying political drama in the state.
Our correspondent sighted the governor around 5:01 p.m., walking toward the President’s office in a deep-blue long-sleeve shirt, black trousers, and a black flat cap. Minutes earlier, Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru had also been ushered in for a separate engagement.
Although details of the two meetings remain undisclosed, the timing has fueled fresh speculation about the next major political shifts in Rivers State and beyond.
Fubara’s visit comes as talk grows louder that he may be preparing to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC). The speculation intensified on Friday, December 5, after 17 lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule defected from the PDP to the APC, ostensibly at the behest of the minister of the FCT, whose stranglehold on the lawmakers is widely known. Most political analysts and observers believe it is just a matter of time before the remaining 10 lawmakers join the colleagues in the APC.
With only three lawmakers still seen as loyal to Fubara and who have not resumed sitting since the lifting of the six-month emergency rule on September 18 — analysts say the governor may be weighing several political options. These include forging a new alliance with the Presidency, consolidating his base within the PDP, or making a bold move to the APC to survive deepening hostilities at home.
Sources close to both camps suggest that if Fubara senses an imminent impeachment plot, crossing over to the ruling party could offer him stronger political cover. Others, however, believe he may be seeking Tinubu’s backing to neutralize the Wike-aligned lawmakers while retaining his position within the PDP.
Friday’s mass defection has also raised questions about whether the crisis in Rivers could trigger another round of federal intervention after the March 18 emergency rule that temporarily removed Fubara from office before his reinstatement.
For now, all eyes remain on the Tinubu–Fubara meeting, whose outcome could determine the next major political moves in Rivers State’s escalating power struggle.
