The long crisis in Rivers State took another step towards a settlement this week. On Monday 19 October 2026, the State House of Assembly reversed its 2024 decision to declare vacant the seats of three lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Who is back
The three are Timothy Oruibienimigha (Opobo/Nkoro), Victor Jumbo (Bonny) and Sokari Goodboy Sokari (Ahoada West). They were among four members suspended on 30 October 2023, at the height of the split in the Assembly. Their suspension was lifted in December 2023 after a presidential intervention, but they did not return, saying they never received formal notice. In October 2024 the Assembly led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule declared their seats vacant.
Each wrote to the Speaker to apologise and appeal. After debate, members voted to rescind the vacancy resolution. Amaewhule reportedly said investigations suggested the three may never have been told their suspension had ended.
The day before: Wike at Fubara’s door
The vote came a day after FCT Minister Nyesom Wike led Assembly members and all 23 local government chairmen to Fubara’s private residence in Port Harcourt, his second such visit in under two weeks. Amaewhule and the APC governorship candidate, Kingsley Chinda, were in the delegation. Wike has said Fubara agreed to return to the political family that backed his election in 2023. Fubara withdrew from the APC governorship primary and has endorsed Chinda as his successor.
Three years of conflict
The feud began in 2023, months after Fubara succeeded Wike. An impeachment attempt split the Assembly 27 to 4. The Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court sided with the Amaewhule-led Assembly, and in March 2025 President Tinubu declared a state of emergency, suspending Fubara, his deputy and the lawmakers for six months under a sole administrator, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas. The emergency ended in September 2025, and in February 2026 the Assembly dropped a fresh impeachment move. Past truces have collapsed, so whether this one holds will be tested on the road to the 6 February 2027 governorship election.
