Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Sunday held a thanksgiving service to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence anniversary, but the 27 state lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, were conspicuously absent.

The service, held at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Garrison, Port Harcourt, had the governor, his associates and a few supporters in attendance. Fubara read a Bible passage but did not deliver a speech, and as of press time, no official statement had been released by his media team.

Fubara and the lawmakers returned to governance on September 18 after being sent on a six-month suspension by President Bola Tinubu on March 18. The President had declared a six-month state of emergency in Rivers State following a protracted feud between Fubara and Wike, his political godfather. Ahead of the end of the six-month emergency rule, the parties said they had reconciled and put the political battle between them.

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, who leads the pro-Wike lawmakers, was at a different event on Sunday. He marked his 52nd birthday with a thanksgiving service at the Anglican Church, Eliozu, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, which also coincided with the church’s Annual Youth Harvest.

Similarly, all 23 local government chairmen, including those elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, were absent from the governor’s event.

An ally of the governor, who pleaded anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, said the development and recent unfolding events “are not funny,” but insisted he was not worried.

The official admitted he could not explain the absence of the 27 lawmakers and the local government chairmen but said it suggested that “all may not be well.”

He recalled that a similar scenario played out when Governor Fubara’s predecessor, Nyesom Wike, suspended some local government chairmen for failing to attend an important state function.

“I can’t say for sure, you know. Maybe in the coming days we will know why. But I’m not worried because it’s just like a husband-and-wife issue,” he said

“You know, when Nyesom Wike was governor here, he suspended some local government chairmen — about three of them or so — for not showing up at an event. So how come these current ones didn’t come? What do you think would have happened to them if it was under Wike, when they didn’t even have a say of their own?”

He added, “But let’s give all of them — both the Assembly members and the local government chairmen — the benefit of the doubt and wait till October 1st, Nigeria’s Independence anniversary proper, and see what happens.”

A source close to the lawmakers said despite the public declaration of peace between the governor and Wike, the pro-Wike camp has allegedly resolved not to attend public functions with Fubara until he distances himself from the three lawmakers loyal to him and his Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, a former factional speaker.

The source added, “Beginning Monday, the Governor is expected to make some changes in action and in words to show he has truly reconciled with the FCT Minister.”

Amaewhule, in his thanksgiving remarks, expressed gratitude for his survival through life’s challenges, including a 2008 abduction.

“Some of you were here in 2008 when I was kidnapped. I spent five days in the forest with a broken skull, feeding on biscuits while bleeding. Many people planned to take my life, but God said, ‘He is my son, he will not die.’ Today, I am alive, healthy and 52. That is enough reason to thank God,” he said.

He recalled that he could not celebrate his 50th and 51st birthdays due to personal losses, saying his 52nd thanksgiving was deliberate:

“I planned to be in the house of God to thank Him. It’s not just about marking another birthday; it’s about acknowledging His mercy.”

The service ended with prayers for the Speaker and his family, as he cut a birthday cake inside the church. (PUNCH)