Former Rivers State Governor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has stated that supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not secure Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara a ticket for the 2027 governorship election.
Wike made the remarks over the weekend during a visit to Emohua Local Government Area, in what observers see as a renewed escalation in the ongoing political tussle between him and his successor.
The rivalry between Wike and Fubara has been intense, previously leading to the burning of the State House of Assembly complex and the declaration of a six-month state of emergency in Rivers State by President Tinubu.
The crisis also triggered the defection of 27 PDP lawmakers loyal to Wike to the All Progressives Congress (APC), sparking several court battles. Additionally, some caretaker committee chairmen aligned with Fubara defected to the Action People’s Party (APP) ahead of local government elections and won their seats.
At the peak of the conflict, President Tinubu reportedly mediated a peace agreement between Wike and Fubara, with sources suggesting one of the conditions was that Fubara would not seek re-election in 2027.
Following the end of the state of emergency in September and the reinstatement of the deputy governor and lawmakers, expectations were high for a return to stability in the state.
Earlier this month, Fubara formally defected from the PDP to the APC after meeting President Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. He later announced his defection at the Government House in Port Harcourt, pledging his support for the President, following the defection of some state assembly members to the APC.
During his Emohua LGA visit, Wike downplayed the political significance of such endorsements, emphasizing that support for Tinubu does not guarantee electoral advantage.
“The issue is not whether you support Tinubu or not. That decision was taken long ago. Nobody needs to come here to tell me they are for Tinubu. Supporting Tinubu will not earn anyone a ticket,” Wike said.
He added, “The Rivers State House of Assembly has done its job. They were the first in Nigeria to declare that, on your mandate, they would stand. So the Tinubu issue is no longer an issue. Who in Rivers State is not for Tinubu? That alone cannot guarantee anyone a ticket.
“The same people who recently made public declarations are the same ones who took the Assembly to court seeking to have their seats declared vacant. All those now chanting ‘on your mandate we stand’ failed when it mattered most. They could not vote for Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We have never wavered in our support for Bola Ahmed Tinubu. When we take decisions, we do so out of conviction, not because of what others are doing.”
