Suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Thursday, held a meeting with the suspended Speaker of the House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, along with other aggrieved state lawmakers.
According to reliable sources, the meeting ended with Fubara and Amaewhule holding hands, sharing jokes, and laughing.
The meeting held in Abuja marked the first attempt at reconciliation between Fubara and the state lawmakers.
A source told The Nation that Fubara’s meeting with the lawmakers was productive, but said a larger peace meeting is planned to discuss the terms of reconciliation.
“The suspended Governor is determined to make peace. He has started the real engagement,” the source said.
Recall that Fubara was suspended from office on 19 March after President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, a move later approved by the National Assembly to stem the escalating political crisis in the state.
Tinubu appointed former Naval Chief, Vice-Admiral Ibok Ete-Ibas, as administrator for Rivers for an initial six-month period to allow the warring politicians to reconcile their differences.
Though Fubara had previously met with his estranged benefactor, Nyesom Wike, and President Tinubu regarding the Rivers situation, the Thursday meeting with the lawmakers was said to be the most significant step yet towards genuine reconciliation.
Wike had stated on several occasions that for any meaningful reconciliation to occur, Fubara must meet with the various stakeholders he had offended, particularly members of the House of Assembly, whose salaries and allowances he reportedly withheld for over two years.
