The real reason why Fubara withdrew from the Rivers State APC governorship primaries

• Governor Siminalayi Fubara says he withdrew from the APC governorship primaries to preserve peace in Rivers State.

• His withdrawal follows years of political conflict with former governor and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.

• Analysts say the move confirms that the Rivers political crisis has largely ended on Wike’s terms.

On Wednesday night, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara announced he was stepping back from the APC governorship primaries in a statement titled "My Decision to Withdraw from the Rivers State Gubernatorial Primaries." The official reason was peace. The real reason has a longer and more complicated history.

Fubara framed his withdrawal as an act of sacrifice, insisting it was not driven by weakness or fear but by a deliberate decision to place the interests of Rivers State above personal ambition.

"After deep reflection and extensive consultations with my family, friends, and associates, I have taken the difficult but necessary decision to withdraw from the APC gubernatorial primaries. I do so with a full heart and with a firm commitment to support whoever emerges as the candidate of our great party," he said.

He acknowledged the pressures he had faced without naming them directly, falling back on a local proverb to explain his silence in recent months. "As our elders say, not everything a hunter sees in the forest is spoken of in the marketplace. I have faced immense pressures and difficult choices, but my love for Rivers State remains greater than anything else."

To understand Fubara's withdrawal, you have to go back to 2023. Fubara came into office in May of that year largely on the strength of his relationship with his predecessor, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who played a central role in his emergence as governor. That relationship collapsed almost immediately after he took office.

Fubara began making independent political appointments and aligning with figures Wike considered rivals. By October 2023, the Rivers State House of Assembly, predominantly loyal to Wike, had initiated impeachment proceedings against him. The crisis that followed was prolonged, messy, and very public.

President Tinubu stepped in multiple times to broker peace, but every truce broke down. Behind the scenes, Fubara was eventually made to accept a series of conditions that significantly curtailed his independence.

He agreed not to seek a second term. He recognised Wike loyalist Martin Amaewhule as Speaker of the House of Assembly, alongside the 27 lawmakers who had defected to the APC.

He sacked key allies from his cabinet, including his Chief of Staff, and ceded significant influence over local government chairmanship appointments and traditional leadership structures to Wike's camp.

In other words, by the time he announced his withdrawal from the primaries, Fubara had already, in practical terms, conceded most of his political ground. The withdrawal was less a dramatic decision and more the final, public acknowledgement of an arrangement that had already been reached.

Critics have described the withdrawal as a capitulation, a governor who came in with ambitions of independence and ended up surrendering his political future to the same forces he tried to resist. Supporters argue he made a pragmatic call to preserve stability in a state that had been paralysed by political warfare for nearly three years.

What is not in dispute is that the Rivers State political crisis, which consumed enormous energy and public resources, has effectively been resolved on Wike's terms. Whether that constitutes peace or simply the end of resistance is a matter of perspective.

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