The Executive Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, announced the immediate dissolution of the State Executive Council on Thursday, In a decisive move that has sent ripples through the Nigerian political landscape.
The directive was communicated via an official statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Onwuka Nzeshi. Under the new mandate, all Commissioners and Special Advisers have been instructed to hand over their duties to the Permanent Secretaries or the most senior civil servants within their respective ministries with immediate effect.
Governor Fubara expressed his profound appreciation to the outgoing council members for their dedicated service to the state. The statement noted that the Governor extended his best wishes to the former officials in their future professional and personal endeavours.
While the statement did not explicitly state the reason for the cabinet reshuffle, the timing is seen by analysts as a strategic “clean slate” following months of administrative friction.
The dissolution occurs precisely 48 hours after the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, confirmed a significant breakthrough in reconciliation efforts aimed at resolving the protracted political crisis in the oil-rich state.
President Bola Tinubu reportedly convened a high-stakes, closed-door meeting at the Presidential Villa on Monday, 9 February. The session was attended by Governor Fubara, his predecessor Chief Wike, and several prominent Rivers State leaders. This intervention marks the President’s latest attempt to broker a truce between the Governor and the State House of Assembly, where a faction loyal to the FCT Minister has repeatedly initiated impeachment proceedings against the incumbent.
Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday, Chief Wike disclosed that the President’s initiative was intended to bring a definitive end to the discord.
“I remember this is the second time the President is intervening, and I believe by the grace of God, this is going to be the last time,” Wike stated. “I have told the Assembly to do the needful and obey Mr President… I also believe the Governor will carry out his own part to ensure that this is the final time Rivers people will hear this kind of discord.”
In a development that observers have described as a “thaw in hostilities,” Governor Fubara reportedly accompanied the FCT Minister to his private residence in Guzape, Abuja, following the meeting at the Villa.
Despite these diplomatic overtures, the political atmosphere in Port Harcourt remains cautiously optimistic but guarded. It remains unclear whether the pro-Wike legislators will formally withdraw the current impeachment notice the third of its kind, which is presently the subject of intense litigation.
Whether the dissolution of the cabinet is a direct condition of the peace deal or a move by Governor Fubara to consolidate his authority under the new “truce” remains a subject of intense speculation.
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