Nigeria, Jan. 13 -- FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike has a favourite political refrain: "agreement is agreement." He repeats it with certainty, authority, and an unmistakable sense of entitlement. But as the political crisis in Rivers State escalates, that phrase has taken on a deeper and more troubling meaning. Nigerians are now asking the obvious question Wike has avoided answering: what exactly was the agreement, and who were the parties to it?

The bitter fallout between Wike, and his successor in Rivers state, Siminalayi Fubara, has gone far beyond personal disagreement. What began as political tension has mutated into an institutional crisis, with the Martin Amawhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly - loyal to Wike - push...