*Photo: Professor Kehinde Yusuf*
In this column on 17 December, 2023, the article titled “Wike and Khama; Fubara and Masisi” drew a parallel between the relationship between the current Nigerian Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the current Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, on one hand, and that between the former Botswana President, Ian Khama, and then-incumbent President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, on the other.
Fubara succeeded Wike as the Governor of Rivers State in South-South Nigeria and Masisi succeeded Khama as President of Botswana. Just as Wike selected and worked for Fubara’s success, Khama chose and worked for Masisi’s victory. So, just as Wike was Fubara’s political godfather, Khama was Masisi’s. But who really is a ‘godfather’, especially in the political context? One of Collins Dictionary’s definitions is “a man who acts as an advisor or mentor to someone.”
This concept of the godfather may be what former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, had in mind when, on 30 May, 2023, whilst counselling Fubara on how to manage his [Fubara’s] relationship with Wike, he remarked: “Maybe if I had a godfather, I wouldn’t have had problems. Maybe if I had a godfather like our father here [former Governor Peter Odili], and Wike, I would not have had problems. I didn’t have one. They [the political powers that be] oppressed me; they showed me pepper.”
In this regard, a political godfather is one who beats a path for a politician, a compass which points the way to political success, and a shield which protects them from political harm. An ideal politician would therefore normally have, acknowledge and revere their godfather. In street language, this is rendered as “Gbà fún ògá e” which in Pidgin English is translated as “Gree for your master,” and in Standard English is “Obey your boss.” This is an invaluable social code, because as a Yoruba proverb puts it, one who’s superior to you can fling you off and get you lost. (“Eni tó bá ju’ni lo, ó lè ju’ni nù.”)
All the same, the relationship between a political godfather and a political godchild can become really testy, especially when the political mentee believes that the political mentor is overbearing. So, not long after Fubara assumed office, crisis developed between him and Wike; and in no time the relationship between Masisi and Khama became strained. Reacting to what he perceived as betrayal by Fubara, Wike threatened that he was going to ensure that Fubara did not secure a second term in office as governor; and in the same vein, Khama threatened that he would ensure that Masisi did not win his second term election as president.
On 30 October, 2024, Khama’s threat was fulfilled as Masisi lost the election. An article titled “Nigeria and the Botswana elections” in this column on 10 November, 2024 asked whether with the fulfilment of Khama’s threat, Wike’s own could also come true. The answer was that time would tell. Now, that time has somehow come.
Between the time Wike issued his threat and now, a lot of water has passed under the bridge, and has left remarkable after-effects on the Rivers State political scene. Fubara’s loyalist, Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo, who was the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly (RSHA) was impeached and replaced by Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule who was Wike’s loyalist. Fubara was then threatened with impeachment by the RSHA which was composed overwhelmingly of Wike’s loyalists. Out of the membership, around 4 were in support of Fabara and 27 were on the side of Wike.
In response to calls from within and outside Rivers State for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene to restore peace in the state’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), even though the President belonged to the All Progressives Congress (APC), he convened a reconciliatory meeting of stakeholders at Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja. At the meeting, a series of agreements were reached and endorsed by Governor Fubara and Minister Wike among others.
However, once he got to Port Harcourt, Fubara declared the agreements as unconstitutional. He therefore did not implement the terms of the agreements in a wholesome way. This led to fresh acrimony between the governor and the legislators, and a fresh plan to impeach the governor was therefore hatched. This second attempt at impeaching the governor showed great promise, because the Supreme Court had ruled that Governor Fubara was governing like a despot and in despicable disregard for the rule of law, and that he had virtually emasculated the RSHA. Indeed, the apex court declared that it could be said that there was no government in Rivers State.
It is believed that in order to prevent the impeachment of Fubara which was immensely prospective and save him from humiliation, President Tinubu declared a State of Emergency in Rivers State on 18 March, 2025. The State of Emergency resulted in the suspension of Fubara and his Deputy Governor, Professor Ngozi Odu, from office, and the appointment of Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), a former Chief of Naval Staff of Nigeria, as Sole Administrator of the state. It also entailed the suspension of the RSHA.
In response to the State of Emergency, Wike remarked in a media parley on 18 April, 2025: “As a politician, I’m not happy. I wanted outright removal of the governor. As a politician, I’m not happy, but for the interest of the state, the President did the right thing. The governor was gone. He was gone. Yes, he was gone.” He also noted: “I’ve told you; people should thank Mr. President. … The House of Assembly members were not happy and that was why I had to go to London to speak to them.” In addition to persuading the assembly members during his 8 April, 2025 visit to support the State of Emergency, Wike sought to mollify the legislators by hosting them to a solidarity dinner in the UK.
On 18 September, 2025, the State of Emergency in Rivers State was lifted, reportedly after a number of agreements were reached. Again, Fubara has been accused of reneging on key aspects of the agreements, and this has created new tension between the Wike and Fubara contending groups. Most notably, fears of a fresh plan to impeach the governor began to grow.
While announcing his defection to the APC on 9 December, 2025, Governor Fubara said in appreciation: “The reason why we are still standing is because of that place [APC] … The truth is, without Mr President, there wouldn’t have been any His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara. It would have been former [Governor Siminalayi Fubara].” This realisation however has not seemed to be matched by absolute trust in and implementation of the peace agreements reached through the reconciliatory meetings facilitated by the President.
Fubara’s impeachment ding-dong has been connected to his mixed messaging at different points during the Wike-Fubara political feud. For example, in a 19 May, 2024 article in this column titled “Sim Fubara’s political mind games,” ways in which he had demonstrated an unsubmissive posturing were outlined. In contrast to this uncompliant disposition, Fubara has acknowledged Wike’s beneficence and ascendant status.
For example, on 25 January, 2024, after the Supreme Court had delivered a judgement affirming his victory in the 2023 governorship elections in Rivers State, Fubara remarked: “First, I want to commend the President for his fatherly role on every issue that concerns our state. Not just the crisis but also this particular litigation that we [have] also overcome. It would also be unfair not to appreciate the Minister [Wike], my Oga. I want to say ‘Thank you’ for their support.”
Moreover, on 14 February, 2026, TVC News reported that in receiving the New Telegraph Man of the Year Award on 13 February, 2026, Fubara remarked: “I do not care how you interpret it or misinterpret it. I also dedicate this award to somebody who also discovered me not minding the situation, the Honourable Minister of the FCT, my Oga, Nyesom Wike. Without him, I wouldn’t be standing here as governor. He discovered me and it’s a discovery that gave me this loudness. Thank you for everything.”
In the meantime, on 9 December, 2025, Governor Fubara, like many of his co-PDP counterparts, defected to the APC. Some read the move as his ploy to undermine Wike’s influence in the party, and for some time, that seemed to have been the case, especially with the declaration of the Governor as the leader of APC in Rivers State and the underscoring of the fact that Wike was not a member of the party by key figures in APC. Meanwhile, Wike had acquired unprecedented clout and influence concurrently within both the PDP and APC. He had also ominously said that for him and his loyalists to allow Fubara to return as governor for a second term would be tantamount to collaborating in consigning themselves to political death.
Wike had accused Fubara of doing the hatchet job for the Minister’s detractors in Rivers State, and in fact hobnobbing with people who had dissuaded Wike from choosing Fubara as his successor. To show how broadly resentful the perception of Fubara as an ingrate who bit the finger that fed him was, in an 11 January, 2026 Channels Television interview, Fayose observed: “The Asiwaju [President Tinubu] that I know hates ingratitude. Everybody hates ingratitude.” Fayose also noted in a January 13, 2026 interview with Rueben Abati: “You can’t sack Wike from Rivers politics.” Fayose has, in addition, been reported to have said that Fubara would need fasting and prayers to ensure his political survival.
This distrust of Fubara has been linked with the fact that he has been given only symbolic and ineffectual leadership roles in APC. It was also believed that the party hierarchy would not approve his nomination as the party’s Rivers State governorship candidate for the 2027 elections. It was therefore not surprising when on 20 May, 2026, Governor Fubara announced his withdrawal from the contest for the party’s candidacy in the elections.
The Wike-Fubara and Khama-Masisi correspondence came full circle when Fubara withdrew from the primary election of the APC, signalling his abandonment of his second term aspiration. In other words, as Khama stopped Masisi from getting a second term in office as president, Wike has somehow stopped Fubara from getting a second term in office as governor.
This article is the culmination of a set of thoughts in this column on the Wike-Fubara feud. It is connected to, among other articles, “Fubara and Politics 101,” of 31 December, 2023; “Fubara and Politics 102,” of 16 March, 2025 and “Rivers State politics: What you see is not what you get,” of 8 February, 2026. It is hoped that they would together make an invaluable whole.