PORT HARCOURT/ABUJA — Signs of de-escalation have emerged in Rivers State’s high-stakes political crisis after a Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) reconciliation committee held separate meetings with Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara, even as the impeachment process against Fubara and his deputy remains frozen by a court order.
A source cited by Sunday Vanguard said the seven-member PANDEF peace committee—headed by former Attorney-General of the Federation Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN)—met Wike in Abuja on Thursday before holding a three-hour session with Fubara in Port Harcourt on Friday. The committee also met elders and political leaders from both camps in Port Harcourt over the weekend, with the source describing the engagements as “very fruitful” and saying there was “renewed hope” that the parties were prepared to back down.
PANDEF’s national chairman, Dr Godknows Igali, confirmed that the committee has met both principals and is engaging other stakeholders, arguing that their willingness to participate suggests a shared desire to resolve the impasse and avert destabilisation in the oil-producing state.
The reconciliation push comes as the Rivers State House of Assembly intensifies impeachment steps. The Assembly wrote the state Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, requesting a seven-person panel under Section 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to investigate allegations of “gross misconduct” against Fubara and Deputy Governor Prof Ngozi Odu.
However, Vanguard reported that a Rivers High Court issued an interim injunction in Suit No. OYHC/7/CS/2026, restraining the Chief Judge from receiving or acting on Assembly communications for the purpose of constituting an impeachment panel—effectively stalling the next constitutional step, at least temporarily.
Behind the scenes, Sunday Vanguard said lawmakers’ renewed resolve to proceed may be driven less by the misconduct allegations and more by political bargaining ahead of 2027, citing claims from a “key player” that legislators want firm assurances of return tickets. The paper also linked the tension to shifting alliances in the state. These assertions remain allegations and were not independently verified.
The Rivers APC leadership, led by Emeka Beke, urged the Chief Judge to obey the interim court order and warned that the impeachment track amounted to a “choreographed” legislative overreach that could damage the party’s prospects in the state.
The crisis is the latest flare-up in a long-running Wike–Fubara power struggle that previously triggered extraordinary federal intervention. In March 2025, President Bola Tinubu declared a six-month state of emergency in Rivers and appointed a sole administrator; the emergency rule was lifted in September 2025, restoring the elected authorities
