• Elders meet Wike, Fubara, others but Assembly declined audience, says Sara-Igbe 
There are indications that political tensions in Rivers State may ease soon, following assurances from sources close to both the executive and legislative arms of government that the situation is under control.

Checks by The Guardian revealed that the state was calm yesterday, with normal activities observed around the Government House, the House of Assembly quarters and other parts of Port Harcourt, contrary to earlier fears of heightened tension.

A member of Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s inner caucus told The Guardian that the governor had assured his allies not to panic anymore, insisting that “everything is under control.”

Sources attributed the apparent easing of tension to Governor Fubara’s recent meeting with President Bola Tinubu outside the country, as well as sustained interventions by elder statesmen from the Niger Delta region.

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) had constituted a seven-man reconciliation committee, chaired by a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Kanu Agabi, to mediate in the Rivers political crisis. The committee was said to have met separately with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and Governor Fubara, while the Assembly, led by Martins Amaewhule, declined an audience with the committee.

Providing insights on the meeting, the Coordinator of the South-South Elders Forum and former spokesman of PANDEF, Anabs Sara-Igbe, disclosed that a high-powered delegation comprising elders and retired generals from across the federation was assembled to intervene in the crisis.

According to Sara-Igbe, the delegation held consultations with major stakeholders, including Wike and Fubara, but was unable to meet with the Rivers State House of Assembly before leaving the state.

He added that the delegation also met with an elders’ forum loyal to Wike, led by Ferdinand Alabraba, another elders’ group headed by a former Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Gabriel Toby, as well as church-led elders and leaders and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elders.

Sara-Igbe stressed that sustainable peace in Rivers rests on the roles of three key actors. He identified President Tinubu as central to the process, describing him as “the father of all,” whose decisions, he said, could decisively end the crisis.

He also pointed to national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), whom he described as having the capacity to resolve the deep-seated political challenges in the state, while noting that Wike equally has a critical role to play in ensuring a smooth peace process.