Amidst the prolonged political tension in Rivers State, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has hosted a dinner for suspended members of the Rivers State House of Assembly currently on a legislative capacity-building tour in the United Kingdom.
A video posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Wike’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, on Monday showed the former Rivers governor seated alongside the lawmakers during the dinner.
According to Olayinka, the lawmakers, who belong to the pro-Wike faction of the state assembly, are in the UK as part of a five-day training tour focused on enhancing their legislative capabilities.
“Yesterday, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, hosted Rivers State House of Assembly members who are in the United Kingdom for legislative capacity building, to a dinner,” Olayinka wrote.
He also disclosed that Wike left Nigeria on Sunday night after holding meetings with his political allies in Port Harcourt.
The UK tour, according to Martins Wachukwu, media aide to Speaker Martin Amaewhule, began in Central London.
Wachukwu said the training is aimed at strengthening parliamentary oversight and peer engagement among the lawmakers.
He added that the lawmakers viewed the programme as an opportunity to improve their legislative competencies.
The dinner and capacity-building tour come against the backdrop of an intense political crisis in Rivers, sparked by a power tussle between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Wike.
The conflict split the House of Assembly into two factions, with the group led by Amaewhule loyal to Wike.
The crisis reached a boiling point in 2023 when an impeachment attempt against Fubara triggered the demolition of the state assembly complex.
On March 18, 2024, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and members of the House of Assembly.
Tinubu later appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as the interim administrator of the oil-rich South-South state.
The latest move by Wike to host the suspended lawmakers further underscores his influence over a critical faction of the Rivers political machinery, even as the state grapples with leadership uncertainty.
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