By Pascal Ibe

Claim

Facebook users and pages circulated a photo of Wike and Fubara together with a claim they had settled their political differences.

Verdict

The image is MISLEADING. The picture of the two politicians and others was from December 2022, when an APC leader defected to PDP, and not recently.

Full Text

That one is not a battle. He (Fubara) is my boy; he is my son; why will I fight with him?

“I’m only fighting against people who want to steal what they did not work for.

These were the comments by the current FCT Minister, Nyesom Wile during an interview with BBC Pidgin a few days ago.

Regarding this, Facebook pages and users have shared a photo of the suspended governor Sliminalayi Fubara and Wile alongside the image depicting that the two have officially settled their political differences.

Awuzie Frankline, a social media influencer shared the photo with the caption that reads, “Nyesom Wike and Sim Fubara have settled.

“Photo: Fubara visited Wike along with others.

Press Express Nigeria and other Facebook pages shared this same image here and here with the claim that it’s recent.

Background

The suspended Rivers governor, Fubara, and his predecessor, Wike, fell apart in less than six months after Mr Fubara assumed office as governor in 2023.

The political crisis split the state’s legislature into two factions, with 27 lawmakers loyal to Mr Wike and three to Mr Fubara. The governor had recognized the three-member faction because he believed the others “lost” their seats in the assembly since they had “defected” from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

However, the 28 February 2025 Supreme Court judgment tipped the balance of power in favor of Mr. Wike and his allies.

The court reinstated the pro-Wike faction as the legitimate Rivers assembly, stopped federal allocations to the state, and nullified the local elections earlier conducted by Mr Fubara’s administration.

On 14 March, the Rivers House of Assembly served a notice of alleged misconduct against Mr Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, as a preliminary step for their impeachment.

In a notice addressed to the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, the 26 lawmakers, among other things, accused Mr Fubara of spending Rivers funds without approval from the state assembly and appointing people to run the government without the required screening and confirmation.

Due to the alleged impending crisis, this may lead President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Mr. Fubara and his deputy for six months.

Verification

FactWatch Nigeria used a Google Lens to verify the photo. Although there has been an indication that the two politicians are ready for settlement currently. However, when this Fact Checker subjected this image to Google Lens, results showed that the photo was from December 2022 when an All Progressive Congress (APC) leader defected to PDP.

Further checks by FACTWATCH Nigeria indicated that the defection by the APC leader in Rivers State was not widely reported by the main Nigerian media outlets. However, few blogs published the story in 2022.

A blog, TNN online info, reported in 2022 that the photo was taken when Nnamdi Abah, one of the APC leaders in Emuoha Local Government Area of Rivers State, joined the PDP.

During a meeting with the governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, and the 2023 governorship candidate of the PDP, Siminalayi Fubara, at the former governor’s country home in Obio-Akpor LGA, Abah, who was led by the chairman of Emohua local government area, Dr. Chidi Lloyd, declared his intention to return to the PDP.

Check similar publications here

Recent reconciliation moves

In April, Premium Times reported that Fubara visited the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, at his Abuja residence to beg for reconciliation.

PREMIUM TIMES learned from sources that Mr. Fubara was led to Mr. Wike’s residence by Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and Olusegun Osoba, a former governor of Ogun.

“Fubara was brought to the minister’s house on Friday, 18 April. He prostrated for Wike while holding his legs and calling him, ‘My Oga’,” one of the sources

Also, with Wike’s interview on BBC News Pidgin, it seems that an end to the political crisis in Rivers State seems to be in sight as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) dismissed the feud between him and the suspended governor of the state, insisting that Fubara remains his political son.

However, as of May 23, it hasn’t been reported that the two politicians have officially reconciled.

Conclusion

Although there’s a reconciliation move between Wike and Fubara currently. However, findings by FACTWATCH Nigeria showed this image being circulated as recently was from 2022, before the general elections in Nigeria.