President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Tuesday held a closed-door meeting with suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara at his private residence in Lagos.

The meeting marks the first official engagement between the embattled governor and the president since Fubara was suspended from office following the declaration of Emergency Rule in Rivers State on March 18, 2025.

During the declaration, President Tinubu dissolved the elected government of Rivers State, removing Governor Fubara, his deputy, and the entire state House of Assembly, citing escalating insecurity and governance breakdown. A former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (rtd), was immediately appointed as Sole Administrator for an initial period of six months.

Fubara, who had remained largely silent in the aftermath of the declaration, recently expressed support for Tinubu’s action, describing it as “the right call at the right time” to bring peace to the restive state. In a public address last week, he assured the people of Rivers that the Emergency Rule “will soon be lifted,” and that he would “return to office.”

The suspended governor also pledged that all government officials previously working under his administration would “come back to your offices,” while revealing that he had reconciled with his political mentor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

However, Wike stated on Monday that President Tinubu did not consult him before deciding to impose an Emergency Rule on the state.

Speaking at a regular media parley, the former Rivers governor revealed that he was not consulted. According to him, if he had been informed, he would not have supported that move.