President Bola Tinubu on Monday held separate closed-door sessions with Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and his Ebonyi State counterpart, Francis Nwifuru, at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The meetings came at a time of deepening political unrest in Rivers State and uncertainty surrounding Governor Fubara’s continued association with the Peoples Democratic Party.
Fubara arrived at the State House at about 5:01 p.m., where he was received by the Presidential Protocol Liaison Officer before proceeding to the President’s office. He departed around 5:45 p.m., and no information was released to journalists regarding the substance of the discussions.
His visit followed the dramatic defection of 17 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on Friday. The lawmakers — all allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule — left the PDP for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defection has sharply altered the power dynamics in the Assembly and intensified concerns about the political survival of the governor.
At present, only three lawmakers believed to be aligned with Fubara remain in the PDP. They have also stayed away from plenary since emergency rule was lifted in the state on September 18.
Earlier on Monday, Governor Nwifuru had been received for a separate meeting with the President.
Like Fubara’s session, the agenda of Nwifuru’s engagement had not been disclosed at press time.
Nwifuru, a former Speaker of the Ebonyi House of Assembly and now an APC governor, has held multiple meetings with the Presidency in recent months, with discussions reportedly focusing on infrastructure development and strengthened security cooperation across the South-East.
