State of Emergency: Tinubu reportedly meets Fubara in London

President Bola Tinubu held a closed-door meeting in London with suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, marking their first face-to-face encounter since Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state last month.

According to sources confirmed by The Africa Report, the meeting was requested by Fubara and took place while Tinubu was wrapping up an 18-day trip abroad that began in Paris and ended in the UK.

The specifics of the discussions remain confidential, but insiders revealed that the talks centred on restoring democratic governance and the possibility of Fubara returning to office before his six-month suspension lapses.

“This was a high-level dialogue to resolve an escalating political impasse. There is now a path being considered to reintegrate Fubara into the state’s leadership structure,” said a presidential aide who requested anonymity.

President Tinubu’s controversial invocation of Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution on March 18 led to the removal of Fubara from office, alongside his deputy, Ngozi Odu.

In a national address, Tinubu cited “months of intense political instability” that had “paralysed governance” in Rivers State, warning it had begun to “threaten national stability.”

In Fubara’s absence, Navy Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas was appointed as the sole administrator of the state.

The decision sparked outrage among opposition leaders, with governors from seven PDP-controlled states filing a suit at the Supreme Court to challenge the legality of the emergency rule and demand a return to elected leadership.

Conspicuously absent from the London talks was Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Fubara’s estranged political mentor, Nyesom Wike.

Sources close to the presidency say Wike is “unsettled” by the meeting and its potential implications.

Tinubu is now expected to host further reconciliation talks with Fubara, Wike, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, in what may be a final effort to broker peace and stability in the crisis-hit region.