The state has been grappling with tensions between former Governor Nyesom Wike and his successor, Sim Fubara. Despite an earlier intervention by President Bola Tinubu, the situation has escalated.

Ada-George is optimistic that the collective experience of former governors can persuade the parties involved to find a resolution.

He mentioned efforts made in October to reach out, with contact established with Fubara, but personal contact with Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), remains elusive.

“We made efforts and reached out to the governor [Siminalayi Fubara] but we have not been able to have personal contact with the minister of the FCT,” Ada-George said but maintained that stakeholders in the state are “still hopeful” that the crisis will be resolved soonest.

Ada-George expressed hope for a swift resolution, coinciding with the resignations of four commissioners in Fubara’s cabinet, adding to the complexity of the political turmoil.

The Commissioner for Works George-Kelly Alabo – who served in the same capacity under Nyesom Wike’s government – and the Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Commissioner Inime Aguma and their Finance counterpart Isaac Kamalu were the latest to pull out. This was after Zacchaeus Adangor resigned as the Attorney-General (AG) and Commissioner for Justice.

Their resignation further compounds the political crisis in the state where lawmakers in the state assembly are now in two groups. While 27 of them had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Despite the defection, Governor Fubara – whose administration demolished the assembly player – presented the 2024 budget to four lawmakers at the Government House in Port Harcourt.