President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday, held separate closed-door meetings with Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Ebonyi State Governor, Francis Nwifuru, at the State House, Abuja.

The engagements came amid heightened political tension in Rivers State and renewed speculation over Governor Fubara’s future within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Fubara arrived at the Presidential Villa about 5:01 p.m. and was received by the Presidential Protocol Liaison Officer before being escorted to the President’s office.

He departed about 5:45 p.m., but details of the meeting remained undisclosed as of press time.

Tinubu’s meeting with Fubara followed Friday’s defection of 17 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, loyal to the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, and led by Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The mass defection has significantly altered the power dynamics in the state legislature and intensified uncertainty around Fubara’s political trajectory.

Only three lawmakers believed to be aligned with the governor remain in the PDP, and they have yet to resume sitting since the lifting of emergency rule in the state on September 18.

Nwifuru, a former Speaker of the Ebonyi House of Assembly and now an APC governor, has in recent months held several engagements with the Presidency, largely centred on infrastructure development and security coordination in the South-East.