Ipalibo Harry-Banigo, a former deputy governor of Rivers State, and the senator representing Rivers West Senatorial District, thanked the state for restoring peace.
Senator Harry-Banigo thanked God Almighty for what she described as “sustained peace” in her Facebook post.
She praised Bola Tinubu, the president, for helping to mend the state’s unity by playing a fatherly role in the internal political crisis.
“I want to thank God Almighty for Rivers State’s continued peace. Congratulations to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the president, for his father’s contribution to the resolution of a political family rift, she said.
Additionally, Harry-Banigo praised the efforts of the Federal Capital Territory’s Minister Nyesom Wike, the suspended governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, and other leaders who support dialogue and reconciliation.
“I also commend the state’s leaders, including the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the Rivers State’s Executive Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, for supporting peace and reconciliation. Rivers State, congratulations! she stated.
The statement came amid a flurry of positive comments about President Tinubu’s mediation of a truce between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, which the suspended governor has argued is crucial to the stability and development of the state.
Read more recently: President Tinubu Meets With Wike, Fubara, and Rivers Lawmakers.
“Tinubu’s Intervention”
On Thursday, President Tinubu had a meeting with members of the assembly, Fubara, Wike, Martins Amaewhule, the state’s speaker, and the assembly’s members.
The President met with the parties at the meeting, according to Channels TV, and on March 18 the state declared a state of emergency.
Fubara was also present at the meeting after the president suspended him, his deputy, Mrs. Ngozi Odu, and the Rivers Assembly while a state emergency was declared.
President Tinubu attributed his actions, among other things, to the state Assembly’s inability to work together and the state’s security situation.
On June 26, 2025, Governor Fubara (right) and FCT Minister Wike pose with Rivers Assembly members at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
One photo shows the President with the governor and the minister all smiling during the meeting on Thursday, which depicted a remarkable achievement in efforts to end the region’s protracted political crisis.
At a funeral service in Rumueprikom, Wike’s hometown in the state’s Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Wike and Amaewhule again appeared in public together two days after the latest round of peace talks at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
On Saturday, June 28, 2025, the FCT’s Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the Rivers State’s suspended governor, Siminalayi Fubara, Obio/Akpor LGA of Rivers State, meet.
No Sacrifice Is Too Big For Peace
There was no sacrifice too great for the state’s peace, stability, and advancement, Fubara claimed on June 28, 2025.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kebbi State has indicated that it is ready to support any coalition that seeks to overthrow the All-Party Congress (APC) at both the state and national levels.
At the conclusion of the party’s stakeholders’ meeting on Saturday, when members expressed optimism about the party’s ability to resolve its ongoing internal conflicts, this statement was made in Birnin Kebbi.
One of the party’s chieftains, Ibrahim Mera, stated to journalists that the state chapter had committed to working closely to ensure the success of any initiative aimed at removing the APC from power.
READ MORE: Coalition Will Be The Party to Beat, APC Should Be Worried, Says Suswam
We also agreed that the state congress should go on its first session, subject to the leadership’s approval, he continued.
He reiterated the party’s commitment to increase its presence in Kebbi State and win support from supporters.
Usman Suru, the Kebbi State PDP Chairman, also addressed the gathering, urging residents to persevere despite the current difficulties and reassure them that a better future is possible.
General Aminu Bande, the PDP candidate for governor in the state and throughout the nation, criticised the state’s and national economic hardship.
He claimed that arbitrary arrests and detentions were carried out by the APC-led Kebbi government.
As political actors are drawn in, Rivers State, a state in Nigeria’s oil-rich South-South state, has been in the spotlight for some time. Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the State Assembly were suspended in March 2025 when President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the state. Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, the president’s sole administrator, was immediately appointed. Many still doubt whether real progress has been made at the recently presidential-brokered peace summit involving Fubara, his predecessor Nyesom Wike, and others, but it may have changed things. Ann-Kio Briggs, a journalist for Channels Television, provides an inside look at the situation in this exclusive interview.
Enjoy the quotes…
What do you think about the Rivers State Electoral Commission (RSIEC), especially now that Michael Odeh, who is not from Rivers State, has been appointed chairman? The Senate Leader contends that no statute prevents a non-indigene from holding the position. Are you in agreement with him?
We think Rivers people are taking advantage of us. We think that some people are using the law, using the constitution when it pleases them, and abusing it when it pleases them, and hoping to get some sort of response to use against the state.
On June 26, 2025, Governor Fubara (right) and FCT Minister Wike pose with Rivers Assembly members at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Which state, regardless of whether it is constitutional, can endure what Rivers people are? Rivers people will eventually grow weary of it and react to it, regardless of whether they actually believe it or not.
There is already a consensus that Mr. President’s declaration of a state of emergency was unconstitutional in large part because it allowed for it, but it also didn’t explicitly say that the governor, deputy governor, or members of the State House of Assembly could be suspended.
Ibas, the man who was brought in, was not elected by the Rivers people. This is constitutional. He now enters and unlawfully removes individuals from positions that the governor has established as constitutionally sound. They were taken out by him. Then he expanded his creation of local government sole administrators. What does he do for money? Why does the government insist that elections must be held? Why does the government demand that the election of the local government be conducted by this sole administrator?
Ann-Kio Briggs and Ibok Ete Ibas are paired up.
Let’s assume there will be a governor’s election, and the governor will be reelected. Will the governor work with people he doesn’t know when he returns?
People are present in court each time something happens. However, our government does not respect or acknowledge the people of Rivers State’s right to be heard in court.
The judiciary itself, which is supposed to checkmate the other branch of the government, is now a branch of the government that it is supposed to checkmate. Therefore, Rivers residents have been subjected to criticism. The Federal Government, the Senate, and the FCT Minister have conspired against Rivers State’s citizens and rights.
Read more about “We Have Agreed To Work Together,” “Wike, Fubara Reconcile, Meet With Tinubu,” and “We Have Agreed To Work Together.”
But how long will it take for us to stop the frustration and anger that are already building? People who fled the city were thrown under the bus.
As I’ve said before, there was never a reason for declaring a state of emergency. The President was deceived and told lies. The people of Rivers State are victims of the presidency and private individuals as long as he continues to act on what he is being told without hearing the people of Rivers State.
The Supreme Court is currently hearing a constitutional question regarding the president’s decision to suspend elected officials in the event of a state of emergency. Has Rivers State actually benefited from this state of emergency?
It ought not to have been disclosed. Actually, the issue has arisen as a result of the state of emergency. The President said it was done because he thought it would benefit Rivers State. We Rivers people are now telling the President that this is not in our best interests.
Look at the man who has been chosen as RSIEC chairman. By law, only the governor is authorized to appoint this chairman, and not less than five or more than seven other members. The governor has a duty to do so. Rivers State does not have an elected governor. Therefore, the Rivers people find that to be inadmissible.
We all know how former president Olusegun Obasanjo fought him in Lagos State when he tried to do something similar. Ibas, a Cross River man who isn’t an elected official, is now in charge of our finances and lives. I’m not sure if the All Progressives Congress (APC) sold us to Cross River.
At a meeting on Thursday, June 26, 2025, Governor Fubara (left), President Tinubu (center), and FCT Minister Wike are all jovial.
We now have someone to advise us on what to do, someone we didn’t choose. We now have a man in charge of an election that we disapprove of. I’m not one to believe in the results of his August election, for example. The elected governor of Rivers State is being imposed upon him in a well-thought-out, well-strategized manner is obvious from the start.
To the extent that this keeps going, the governor is either currently tied down for any reason or has accepted the plan. The Rivers people cannot afford that. Additionally, the governor we elected is not interested in this. He will fight for us, we anticipate. We think he is not currently.
Governor Fubara is choosing peace, according to some, while others claim that he is not pursuing sufficient reelection. Is there any evidence that a local government election is being planned in Rivers State now that the court has yet to decide whether to appoint a sole administrator and remove elected officials?
A group of armed bandits reportedly attacked a mobile police post in Makuku, in the state’s Zuru Local Government Area, and fled with some rifles.
Abdulrahman Zagga, the Cabinet Office’s director of security, made this known to reporters on Saturday.
A large band of bandits attacked the mobile police post, which was manned by visiting officers, according to Zagga. The officers were overpowered despite confronting the attackers in a gunfight.
He claimed that the bandits allegedly escaped with an undisclosed number of rifles after burning a Toyota Hilux patrol car owned by the unit.
READ MORE:  , Troops Neutralize Bandit, and Recover AK-47 In Taraba
Zagga made it clear that the attack was not a police station, as some reports claimed, but a temporary mobile police post. He added that the mobile police officers were forced to leave because there were so many assailants.
He revealed that the state government requested air support from the Nigerian Air Force upon learning about the attack, forcing the bandits to retreat.
Zagga stated that “no casualties were reported during the incident.” The majority of the bandits came from Zamfara and the Niger States, respectively.
He explained that because the village of Makuku is close to the border with Niger State, it is particularly vulnerable to such attacks.
Zagga added that Kebbi State has no peace agreements with any bandit organizations or their leaders, in contrast to some neighboring states.
Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, the director general of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has urged Corps members to accept their positions in good faith and relocate where they are currently assigned to provide selfless services to promote national development.
Olakunle Nafiu, DG of NYSC, and Miss NYSC
Brigadier General Nafiu gave the advice while speaking with the 2025 Batch “A” Stream 2 Corps members at the NYSC Lagos State Orientation Camp, Iyana-Ipaja, according to a statement from Caroline Embu, acting director of the NYSC’s acting director for information and public relations, Caroline Embu.
Corps members pictured with NYSC DG Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu.
He advised them to also respect and learn their host communities’ cultures and traditions, noting that different cultural values exist in every region of Nigeria.
Corps members pictured with NYSC DG Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu.
General Nafiu, who warned the Corps Members against misconduct, emphasized that those who violated the country’s constitution and NYSC bylaws would be spared.
“I urge you as Nigerian youths to believe in this country and raise this country high because you have obeyed the call.
Because Nigeria belongs to us, we anticipate that you will be patriotic citizens of this country.
“Be diligent at your duties wherever you are posted.” Don’t go without permission or at night, according to General Nafiu.
Adeniyi, the head of Nigeria’s Customs Council, was elected president.
The Corps Members were fully integrated into the camp committees and were performing their duties incredibly, according to Christianah Salmwang, the NYSC Lagos State Coordinator, in her camp report to the director general.
In the Lagos camp, 1, 250 male corps members and 1, 960 female corps members, or 3,212, were registered, she added.
Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, an elder statesman, business mogul, and philanthropist, passed away in the care of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Dantata was a well-known and successful businessman who passed away at the age of 94 on Saturday.
President Tinubu described Dantata’s passing as a monumental national loss because of his outstanding contributions to Nigeria’s economic growth and development in a statement signed by his media aide, Bayo Onanuga, on Saturday.
The late Dantata served in the old Kano State’s planning and development committee, among other positions, in addition to his reputable and long-standing business acumen.
READ MORE: Business Icon Aminu Dantata Dies At 94.
Dantata received a public rebuke for his public-spirited philanthropy, which had a significant impact on the delivery of healthcare and education.
The President recalled his friendship with the late mogul, praising his wise counsel and support as incredibly positive and encouraging.
We lost a prominent business mogul, patriot, and elder statesman who had a significant influence on our country’s growth and development with Alhaji Dantata’s passing today.
The President declared that Alhaji Dantata will be remembered for his work, diligence, steadfastness, and great commitment to the unity of the country through his numerous business and philanthropic endeavors, which have affected many lives of Nigerians.
The passing of Nigeria’s illustrious son, the Dantata family, the government, and the Kano State people has been the subject of President Tinubu’s sincere condolences.
Vice President Kashim Shettima, on behalf of the country, expressed his condolences over Dantata’s passing, claiming that it was a priceless institution.
Vice President Shettima praised the late businessman for his lifetime of service, calling him “a living bridge that connected us to our past,” in a condolence message released by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha.
Senator Shettima described Dantata as “one of the greatest titans in Nigeria’s philosophical history,” whose demise marks the close of a crucial chapter in the country’s economic and democratic development, saying, “We have not just lost a leader, we have lost an irreplaceable institution.”
A significant chapter of our history departs with such an elderly person, according to African tradition. He was a living bridge that connected our past, according to Vice President Shettima, who was indeed one of the greatest titans.
The Vice President expressed his condolences to the Dantata family, saying that he hoped the family would “find the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss,” as well as praying that Allah would grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus.
Alhaji Aminu, who was born into the legendary Dantata family in Kano, grew up one of Nigeria’s most influent businessmen based on his father’s business legacy. His empire includes those in the oil and gas industries, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and construction.
