Fubara, Odili, Other Leaders Intensify Efforts to Restore Peace in Rivers

This January, the tone in Rivers State politics feels different, less explosive, more crepuscular. Even though politics in that region is rarely quiet, something is different, as seen by how familiar power brokers are stepping forward to calm a conflict that refuses to burn out quietly.

At the centre is Governor Siminalayi Fubara, locked in a grinding struggle with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike. Starting January 2026, the House of Assembly served impeachment notices on Fubara and his deputy, citing alleged financial breaches and procedural lapses.

According to lawmakers led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, the governor authorised spending outside approved budgets and delayed funds meant for legislative operations. Fubara’s camp has turned to the courts, seeking injunctions to freeze proceedings already charged with political exigency.

Meanwhile, alliances have shifted. In December 2025, Fubara defected from the PDP to the APC, describing it as a federal-backed reset. 17 lawmakers followed. Others stayed loyal to Wike. A Supreme Court ruling earlier confirmed Amaewhule’s leadership, closing one lacuna while opening another.

Federal power has hovered close. President Bola Tinubu previously imposed a state of emergency after governance stalled in 2025. Recently, he urged the Assembly to pause impeachment. The intervention framed stability as an ineluctable priority for a state central to oil output.

This follows renewed elder mediation. Former governor Peter Odili moved from quiet broker to public anchor. Early this month, he named Fubara Rivers’ political leader, defended his party switch, and recalled the 2023 peace accord he once witnessed under Tinubu’s watch.

Fubara has made concessions. Commissioners aligned with Wike returned to cabinet. Withheld Assembly allowances were released. In speeches, the governor struck a demotic tone, urging forgiveness as a condition for development and outside investment.

The Pan-Niger Delta Forum added weight. A committee led by former Attorney-General Kanu Agabi now pursues a longer settlement, driven by concern that prolonged tension could again threaten pipelines and regional security.

Projects continue amid the standoff, with roads and bridges still being commissioned. Yet the real test sits elsewhere. As analysts have made clear, if peace holds, it will be less because tempers softened. Rather it will be because every major actor now seems sanguine about the same risk: another collapse would cost them all far more than compromise ever could.