Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has announced a plan by his administration to set up a panel of inquiry into the governance of the state.

Governor Fubara stated this on Monday after swearing in Dagogo Iboroma as the Attorney General of the state shortly after the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) was screened and confirmed by the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led House of Assembly.

He emphatically stated that the state is in a critical situation where it has become obvious that the political crisis cannot be resolved.

“Why are we bringing you in at this very critical time? You have a big task. As it is today, in the local parlance, they say the jungle has matured. We will be setting a panel of inquiry to investigate the affairs of governance,” he said. “So brace up. I am not going back on it”.

The governor accused his opponents of deliberately sabotaging his administration while he was hoping that the issue in the state would be resolved amicably.

He vowed to make tough decisions moving forward no matter how hurtful they would seem.

Governor Fubara also responded to comments by former Attorney General Zacchaeus Adangor (SAN), and his counterpart in the Ministry of Works Alabo George-Kelly.

He accused the former Attorney General of sabotaging his administration by filing nolle prosequi against the interest of the state.

On the comment by George-Kelly, Governor Fubara maintained he would have been promoted beyond Level 14 in the civil servants before his retirement.

He said he was already on Level 13 as a Chief Account Officer before 2023. According to him, even if it was a mistake, by the special grace of God he is here as a governor.

“Even if it is a mistake (his emergence as a governor), by the special grace of God, I am here today. Let me also appeal to them, let them continue to make mistakes,” Fubara said.

The move is the latest twist in the political crisis rocking the oil-rich state. The development has seen a deepening of the feud between Fubara and the state House of Assembly.

Last week, lawmakers loyal to the governor elected a new speaker. Fubara had also issued an executive order relocating the sitting venue of the Rivers State House of Assembly to the Government House, citing safety concerns.

The feud is due to the fallout between Fubara and his predecessor and current Minister of the FCT Nyesom Wike. President Bola Tinubu had waded into the crisis last year but the imbroglio appears to be far from over.

The reason behind the visit of 2023 presidential flagbearer of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi to top political figures such Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki and Sule Lamido has been revealed.

Obi’s spokesperson, Dr Yunusa Tanko, said the visit was in line with the former Anambra governor’s commitment to the peace and progress of the nation.

Speaking with The PUNCH following Monday’s meeting with Atiku, Saraki and Lamido, the Chief Spokesman of Obi’s Presidential Campaign Organisation, Yunusa Tanko, explained that the closed-door meeting with the PDP big wigs bothered on discussions on how to rescue the ‘soul of Nigeria’ from the clutch of the ruling All Progressives Congress.

He said, “I am not privy to their meetings. But what you are seeing are some of the long discussions we have had a long time ago. It is part of the discussions and efforts to battle for the soul of Nigeria.

“It is not a surprising thing for Obi to meet some of his political allies to discuss the situation of the country. That is the few I can say for now.”

On the chances of Obi returning to the PDP or the possibility of a merger between the Labour Party and the PDP, Tanko said such talks would only remain in the realm of speculations.

“Well, not really. Those are the permutations of individuals. I don’t want to dwell on that. But this is still an ongoing discussion. His destination will reveal itself later. Some of these discussions (Obi returning to PDP) are offshoots of what has been happening since the last election.

“We need to wait and see how these discussions pan out. Let’s hope they bring a positive outcome in the long run,” he said.

An official statement released by Obi’s media team titled ‘State of the Nation and Plight of the Poor: Obi visits Atiku, Saraki and Lamido’ corroborated Tanko’s earlier sentiment that Obi is determined to engage virtually all his political allies on the need to wrest power from the ruling APC.

The statement read, “The 2023 Presidential flag bearer of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has continued to live up to his expressed commitment to the peace and progress of the nation. His abiding devotion is to the emergence of a Nigeria that works for all its people and where the people are quickly pulled out of poverty.

“Worried about the state of the nation and the increasing uncertainty in the living conditions of the poor and underprivileged, Obi in Abuja on Monday visited some top Nigerians, among whom are Former Vice President, and PDP Presidential Candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, the Former Senate President Senator Bukola Saraki and the Former Governor of Jigawa state, Alhaji Sule Lamido.

“At the centre of discussion during each of these visits was the state of the nation and how to reduce the suffering of all Nigerians irrespective of class and location. In particular, the desperate condition of the downtrodden in our midst was highlighted. Of particular interest and emphasis in these discussions was the worrisome situation in the Northern parts of the country.”

Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi has paid a courtesy visit to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in Abuja on Monday, May 13.

In a tweet via his X handle, Atiku described Obi’s visit as an honour and privilege.

Although Atiku, presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, did not disclosed the reason for Obi’s visit, some Nigerians on social media are of the opinion that it may not be unconnected with the 2027 elections.

Recall that Obi was Atiku’s running mate during the 2019 presidential election.

The former Anambra State governor then decamped to the Labour Party few months to the 2023 primary election of the PDP.

Meanwhile, Atiku’s spokesperson, Paul Ibe, has clarified that Atiku did not play a role in Obi’s departure from the party.


Ibe revealed that FCT minister Nyesom Wike’s promotion of his zone for the presidency in the south influenced Obi’s decision to resign from the PDP.

While acknowledging Wike’s influence in the party, Ibe said: “Wike has charted different paths to serve his interest because I don’t understand what interest, is it the PDP interest? It cannot be. It is his interest all well and good for him.”