Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has urged supporters of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to set aside a prolonged political feud and mobilize behind President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid, promising that a strong electoral showing would bring the oil-rich state more federal appointments and infrastructure investment.
Speaking at an interactive meeting with Fubara-aligned supporters and youth leaders in Port Harcourt, Wike framed political unity as a transactional route to national relevance.
He said Rivers should aim to rank among the three states delivering the highest vote totals for Tinubu in the next presidential election.
“All I want to hear in this state is Tinubu and nothing but Tinubu,” Wike said, according to remarks from the meeting.
“If we play the role we are playing now, and we are one of the first three states that get the highest number of votes, we will get more of the appointments.”
Wike’s appeal marks the latest step in an effort to consolidate the Rainbow Coalition, a political alliance seeking to unite rival factions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He has, in recent days, met with Fubara and other stakeholders as part of reconciliation talks in Port Harcourt.
The minister said the Tinubu administration had already appointed a record number of Rivers indigenes to senior federal positions and argued that a more decisive electoral performance could unlock additional benefits.
He also pointed to projects, including Bonny Road, as evidence of federal commitment to the Niger Delta.
Wike, a former two-term governor of Rivers State, said his objective was not personal advancement but the state’s continued influence in national decision-making.
“I am not going to be governor again; this is for your own interest,” he said.
“I want this state to grow. I want this state to play an important role in the politics of Nigeria.”
Former Mayor of Port Harcourt Ezebunwo Ichemati, speaking for Fubara’s supporters, said the group was prepared to work with Wike and the Rainbow Coalition to deliver Rivers for Tinubu and other coalition candidates.
He described the meeting as a turning point in the state’s political landscape.
Ichemati characterized the rift between the camps as an internal family dispute that had now produced a truce.
He said grassroots youth leaders, whom he called the “foot soldiers” of the previous political crisis, would be mobilized to strengthen the coalition’s campaign machinery.
“All we can say is: test us, try us, and we will deliver,” he said.
Ichemati also said Fubara was aware of and supported the meeting, positioning it as part of a broader peace process rather than a unilateral move by Wike’s camp.
Kingsley Chinda, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers State and a figure in the Rainbow Coalition, told attendees that Wike remained central to the state’s stability and development.
He described the minister as one of the most misunderstood political figures of modern times, saying his maneuvers were ultimately aimed at protecting Rivers’ interests.
Chinda called for youth inclusion to move beyond rhetoric and for an end to political bickering, arguing that restoring institutional peace was essential to the state’s economic future.
Former Rivers State Commissioner for Energy Uche Maximus also pledged to work with the minister to mobilize young voters for Tinubu’s re-election and Chinda’s governorship campaign.
The outreach underscores how the once-bitter Wike-Fubara split is giving way to an electoral alliance centered on Tinubu’s second-term campaign.
Fubara has previously declared support for Tinubu, joined the APC and endorsed Chinda as his preferred successor.
For the FCT minister, the arrangement offers a chance to convert his influence in Rivers into a decisive bloc for the president.
For Fubara’s supporters, it presents access to federal patronage and a role in a coalition that now spans the state’s principal political structures, NewsQuest gathered.
