For up to eight weeks, Rivers State in the southern part of Nigeria, had been spinning around a toxic confrontation between the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara and some Assembly members who wanted to impeach him. This led to chaotic scenes and an intervention by President Bola Tinubu who it seems has come up with solutions that everyone can finally comply with.

The answers to the lingering issue of godfather supremacy between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesome Wike were compiled into an 8-point resolution that the relevant parties penned their signatures on. This act was performed after a meeting convening at the Aso Rock Villa on Monday 18 December had said its final deliberations.

At the meeting were President Tinubu, Rivers Governor, Mr Fubara; the Deputy Governor, Mrs Ngozi Odu; former governor of Rivers, Peter Odili and then Honourable Wike, the immediate past governor and now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

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The agreements reached centred around the restoration of peace in Rivers State. For that to happen, there was a need to revert to the status quo. That meant yielding to concessions by all sides, such as the assembly members halting any effort to impeach the governor, and in return, they get back their full autonomy.

Also witnessing this moment of resolution on Monday were the Vice President, Kashim Shettima; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila. They all represent parties agreeing with the following points:

• All matters instituted in the courts by the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Fubara, and his team, in respect of the political crisis in Rivers State, shall be withdrawn immediately.
• All impeachment proceedings initiated against the Governor of Rivers State by the Rivers State House of Assembly should be dropped immediately.
• The leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly as led by the Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule shall be recognised alongside the 27 members who resigned from the PDP.
• The remunerations and benefits of all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and their staff must be reinstated immediately and the Governor of Rivers State shall henceforth not interfere with the full funding of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
• The Rivers State House of Assembly shall choose where they want to sit and conduct their legislative business without interference and/or hindrance from the executive arm of government.
• The Governor of Rivers State shall re-present the state budget to a properly constituted Rivers State House of Assembly.
• The names of all commissioners in the Rivers State Executive Council who resigned their appointments because of the political crisis in the State should be resubmitted to the House of Assembly for approval.
• There should not be a caretaker committee for the local governments in Rivers State. The dissolution of the Local Government administration is null and void and shall not be recognised.

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A meeting of stakeholders brokered by the NSA, Nuhu Ribadu issues directives to resolve political impasse in Rivers State. pic.twitter.com/ozu4VRU1Ju

— NTA News (@NTANewsNow) December 18, 2023

The altercations which started in Rivers State, rounding up October delivered shocking moments that the residents felt they could do without. They were baffled at first by the 30 October explosion at the assembly complex involving explosive devices believed to be dynamite. The shock was prolonged when the Governor on Wednesday 13 December led a demolition team to the Rivers State House of Assembly complex and brought down all the bricks with bulldozers.

Mr Fubara was then restricted afterwards to presenting his ₦800 billion Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity at a make-shift structure in the Government House in Port Harcourt. There, the remaining state assembly members who didn’t defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in support of the newly minted godfather figure Nyesome Wike, gathered.

Ayodele Johnson

Ayodelé is a Lagos-based journalist and the Content and Editorial Coordinator at Meiza. All around the megacity, I am steering diverse lifestyle magazine audiences with ingenious hacks and insights that spur fast, informed decisions in their busy lives.