Details Emerge as Wike Meets Fubara at Private Residence

The meeting also brought together the Rivers State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Kingsley Chinda, former Senator Magnus Abe and other supporters from the different political camps.

The closed-door meeting, which reportedly began around 4pm, lasted for several hours. It brought together key political figures who had previously been on different sides of the political crisis that shook Rivers State.

Details of what was discussed were not immediately made public.

Neither Wike nor Fubara publicly disclosed the issues considered during the meeting as of the time of filing this report.

However, the gathering is coming against the background of renewed efforts to strengthen the political reconciliation between Wike and Fubara and bring their supporters together under the Rainbow Coalition.

The development is also important because it involved not only the two political leaders but their respective supporters.

The meeting was said to have provided an opportunity for members of both camps to sit together and discuss the political direction of the state.

It was also the latest in a series of engagements following the end of the prolonged disagreement between Wike and Fubara.

The relationship between the two men deteriorated after Fubara became governor in 2023.

The disagreement later spread to the Rivers State House of Assembly and created two opposing political camps around the governor and his predecessor.

The crisis became one of the major political disputes in the state, with attempts at reconciliation taking place at different stages.

The situation later changed after Fubara announced his decision to support the Rainbow Coalition and endorsed Chinda as the candidate of the coalition for the 2027 governorship election.

Speaking at a public event in July, Fubara said the political differences had ended and urged his supporters to support the coalition.

“We have made peace in the state and I am supporting our Rainbow Coalition. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is our President, and the one we are supporting, O.K Chinda is the governorship candidate that I am supporting and anybody who believes in me will support every candidate in this the Rainbow Coalition”.

Wike subsequently described Fubara’s return to the political camp as a development that would help consolidate the political arrangement in Rivers State.

Following the new alignment, a reconciliation committee headed by Abe was constituted to engage the governor and other members of his political camp.

The committee had already held meetings with Fubara at the Government House in Port Harcourt.

In August, Abe and members of the committee met with the governor for the second time within a few weeks. Chinda was also present during the engagement.

The committee said the reconciliation process was intended to ensure that members of the political family were brought together despite their previous disagreements.

Abe, while speaking after one of the meetings, said the committee had made progress in its efforts to bring the different sides together.

“We are all in agreement, and we have made very good progress.”

The reconciliation committee also assured members of the coalition that there would be no victimisation because of their past political differences.

Tuesday’s meeting therefore comes as another stage in the process of rebuilding relationships between the different political blocs.

It also provides a broader platform for Fubara’s supporters and members of the Wike-led coalition to work together as the 2027 elections draw closer.

The coalition has been working to bring together political actors across different groups in Rivers State.

The reconciliation effort has become particularly important following Fubara’s decision not to seek another term as governor.

Chinda subsequently emerged as the APC governorship candidate after Fubara withdrew from the contest.

The governor has since publicly backed Chinda and called on his supporters to identify with the political coalition.

Wike and Fubara had also met privately in Port Harcourt in August.

That meeting was the first reported direct meeting between the two politicians after Fubara announced that he would not seek another term as governor.

Chinda and Abe were also present at that engagement.

No official statement was issued on the outcome, and there was no immediate indication of whether new decisions were taken regarding the structure of the coalition, the 2027 campaign or the sharing of political responsibilities among the different groups.

Nevertheless, the immediate outcome of this meeting remains subject to further clarification from the participants.

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