Fubara vs Wike/Lawmakers: Tinubu options are politically costly,
…as power struggle again freezes Rivers
By Luminous Jannamike, Abuja
By mid-afternoon on Thursday in Abuja, Tamuno Briggs has stopped pretending to concentrate.
His laptop is open in front of him, but his attention keeps drifting back to his phone.
Another alert from Rivers State. Another escalation. Another headline suggests that the fragile calm has collapsed again.
Tamuno scrolls slowly, not out of political curiosity, but calculation.
If the impeachment succeeds, will the contracts his younger brother depends on in Port Harcourt be suspended yet again? Will the payments his uncle’s small construction firm has been waiting for, already delayed for months, slip further into uncertainty? He has seen this pattern before. In Rivers State, when politicians fight, the economy freezes first.
From Abuja, far from the rallies and legislative drama, Tamuno understands a hard truth: The Wike–Fubara conflict may be rooted in Rivers, but its consequences travel.
A familiar Rivers story, told again
At its core, the renewed crisis in Rivers State follows a script its people know too well. A political godfather installs a successor. The successor seeks independence. The godfather revolts.
Nyesom Wike, former governor of Rivers State and now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, handpicked Siminalayi Fubara as his successor in 2023, expecting continued influence over appointments, finances, and political structures. Fubara’s insistence on autonomy ruptured that understanding.
By late 2023, the fallout had become institutional. The Rivers State House of Assembly split into rival camps. The assembly complex was set ablaze. Impeachment threats became routine weapons rather than constitutional safeguards.
President Bola Tinubu intervened, first through mediation, then through an extraordinary six-month state of emergency in 2025. From March to September, a sole administrator ran Rivers State while elected leaders were sidelined. For a moment, politics paused and governance resumed. That pause did not last.
Fubara’s defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) late in 2025 altered the balance completely.
What had been an internal PDP feud became a ruling-party dilemma with national implications.
Budgets, laws, and the real fight
The immediate spark for the latest confrontation was fiscal. Lawmakers loyal to Wike pushed for a supplementary appropriation bill to adjust the N1.48 trillion 2025 budget passed during emergency rule. Governor Fubara rejected the proposal, insisting the budget was sufficient.
He went further. Fubara refused to present a 2026 budget to the Rivers State House of Assembly, accusing lawmakers of bad-faith politics.
Under Nigerian law, that refusal is explosive. The House of Assembly, dominated by Wike loyalists, initiated impeachment proceedings against Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, citing ‘gross misconduct.’
Days earlier, Wike had publicly declared a ‘fresh war,’ vowing to block Fubara’s second-term ambition and threatening to expose the details of their past agreements.
For Rivers residents, and those whose livelihoods depend on the state, the message was unmistakable: Governance had once again been suspended.
Abuja’s uneasy watch
The crisis now sits squarely in Abuja. Wike remains a central figure in Tinubu’s political calculations, having delivered Rivers votes in the 2023 presidential election. That loyalty earned him a powerful cabinet role. But Fubara is now an APC governor, an asset the party can scarcely afford to lose as 2027 approaches.
Tinubu’s options are politically costly
He can broker yet another peace deal, despite the collapse of previous agreements. He can impose party discipline and restrain lawmakers driving impeachment. He can step back and allow the courts to decide, risking prolonged paralysis. Or he can intervene forcefully, a move that would revive accusations of overreach. Each path carries consequences beyond Rivers.
Who bears the burden?
The impeachment process itself remains uncertain. Removal requires a two-thirds majority, the appointment of a seven-member investigative panel by the chief judge appointed by Governor Fubara, and judicial endorsement. Without institutional alignment, the process could stall. But even a stalled impeachment has consequences.
Projects freeze. Payments stall. Civil servants wait. Contractors borrow to survive. Students wonder if bursaries will resume. Across Nigeria, families with economic ties to Rivers feel the strain without ever appearing in official statements.
Tamuno sees it clearly from Abuja. While power is contested, ordinary lives are paused.
The road ahead
In the short term, impeachment may falter; especially if the State House Aso Villa quietly signals restraint. A temporary truce remains possible: a budget presentation in exchange for dropped proceedings.
In the long term, the conflict is drifting toward the 2027 elections. Wike has vowed to block Fubara’s re-election. Fubara, buoyed by incumbency, APC backing, and Ijaw solidarity, appears determined to hold his ground.
Rivers State has lived through this cycle before. Godfathers often lose eventually. But the people always lose time, and development, along the way.
Public reactions
Peter Ameh, a former National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and political commentator, said: “The political tension in Rivers State is caused by Nyesom Wike’s attempt to control Governor Fubara
“The fact remains that Wike is bitter over the way Fubara has resented on taking orders from him… personal and political fights should not get in the way of running the government, and leaders must follow the law and focus on helping the people.
“Where is the interest of the people? Where is the KPI that we use to judge the performance of the governor? The focus in Rivers State must shift from political power to the needs of the people.”
Baba Yusuf, political strategist and Group CEO, Global Investment and Trade Company, said: “The impeachment proceedings against Fubara are a calculated attempt by the Wike camp to oust Governor Fubara. Impeachment proceedings in Nigeria are always from disagreements. It is a sad reality of our politics. For over three years, Fubara has not been allowed to execute his mandate.”
Dr. Leloonu Nwabubasa, convener, Rivers Liberation Movement, said: “Wike will not allow Rivers people to rest and allow governance to take place in the state. He is politically drowning. He is not only attacking his successor, Fubara, but also throwing tantrums and blaming outside actors that have nothing to do with politics in Rivers State.”
Dickson Iroegbu, PDP member, said: “The sudden coming back of the state assembly to from their recess, the only mission they had of course was clear to come for that impeachment notice… I hope the President will have the boldness to now sack Nyesom Wike and make him realise that there is only one President Commander in chief.”
Dr. Ibrahim Modibo, Political Affairs Analyst, said: “Let me seek refuge under the philosophical thought of Napoleon the Great… Fubara can survive it… Otherwise we’re destined for a very dangerous democratic journey.”
The post Fubara vs Wike/Lawmakers: Tinubu options are politically costly appeared first on Vanguard News.
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By mid-afternoon on Thursday in Abuja, Tamuno Briggs has stopped pretending to concentrate.
The post Fubara vs Wike/Lawmakers: Tinubu options are politically costly appeared first on Vanguard News.
, , Idowu Bankole, {authorlink},, , Vanguard News, January 11, 2026, 2:48 am
