Fubara, Wike Exchange Greetings At State House

* As national police council meets to confirm Egbetokun as IG

Deji Elumoye in Abuja 

The embattled Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, and his estranged godfather and incumbent Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday met at the State House, Abuja.

The duo, who are at the centre of the current political crisis rocking Rivers State, are attending a meeting of the National Police Council (NPC), which is chaired by President Bola Tinubu and has the 36 governors, the Minister of the FCT, Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC) and the Inspector-General of Police (IG) as members.

The NPC meeting, THISDAY learnt, is expected to discuss and confirm the appointment of Kayode Egbetokun, who has been acting as IG since June 2023.

Other state governors attending the close door meeting are Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Ahmadu Fintiri (Adamawa), Bala Mohammed (Bauchi), Abdullahi Abba (Kano) and Bassey Ottu (Cross River).

Before they went into the executive session, some of the governors and the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, engaged in aside discussions, while others engaged in exchange of banter. 

In the ensuing development, Wike later proceeded to shake hands and briefly exchange pleasantries with Governor Fubara after leaving the NSA.

This is the first time the Rivers State Governor (dressed in white Kaftan) and his estranged Godfather, Wike (also decked in  white kaftan), are meeting face to face since the beginning of the reported face-off between them.  

The security operatives around, while both men were exchanging pleasantries, would however not allow journalists capture the moment in pictures, moving or still.

The political atmosphere in Port Harcourt suddenly turned chaotic on Monday when the state House of Assembly, split between the governor and his predecessor, with both sides making counter moves.

While the Wike group sacked the Leader of the House, Edison Ehie, and later served a notice of impeachment on Governor Fubara, the governor’s loyalist in the House in turn sacked the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, and replaced him with Ehie as new Speaker.

Leaders of thought in Rivers State across ethnic and political divides have however called on President Tinubu to intervene in the crisis in order to forestall a total breakdown of law and order in the state.