President Bola Tinubu on Saturday thanked a large crowd in Port Harcourt for its support and sought renewed backing from Rivers State voters as he campaigns for re-election in January 2027.
He also praised the reconciliation between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and former Governor Nyesom Wike, presenting it as evidence of political stability in the state.
Speaking at the Rainbow Coalition Presidential Campaign Rally at Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium,
In a statement, Special Adviser to the President on information and Strategy, Tinubu acknowledged Rivers voters’ role in his 2023 election victory and urged them to help consolidate his administration’s gains.
The rally, organized by the Rainbow Coalition led by Wike, drew political leaders and supporters from Rivers State and beyond.
Tinubu commended Fubara for accepting the intervention of political elders during the crisis between the governor and Wike, his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the statement said.
“During the political crisis caused by a misunderstanding in the family, I intervened on your behalf,” Tinubu said.
“I thank Governor Fubara, in particular, for his maturity, understanding, and respect for the wisdom of elders when we intervened. Fubara, you will not regret what you have done as long as all of us are alive.”
Fubara, in turn, pledged that Rivers would deliver at least three million votes for Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.
He said supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party ( (PDP) were working together under the Rainbow Coalition.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for standing by us at a most difficult time,” Fubara said.
“A good gesture deserves reciprocity. As you have stood by us, we will stand by you.”
Wike described the turnout as evidence that Rivers residents had already committed to voting for Tinubu on January 16.
He credited the president with appointing more than 47 Rivers indigenes to federal positions and cited projects including the Bonny–Bodo Road and the Federal University of Environment in Ogoniland.
According to the statement, Tinubu told supporters that his administration’s reforms were moving Nigeria toward prosperity and said the government was clearing inherited liabilities, including unpaid pensions and gratuities.
“The people who governed before us left unpaid pensions and gratuities running into billions and trillions of naira,” he said.
“We are clearing that backlog so that every family is included and we can share in the prosperity.”
The President said outstanding pensions and salaries in 27 of Nigeria’s 36 states had been cleared and that beneficiaries could now expect regular monthly payments.
He also criticized Atiku Abubakar, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, over his support for restoring fuel subsidies and questioned the former Vice President’s fitness for public office, it said.
“When those people talk about hunger, remember that I am cleaning up the mess they created,” Tinubu said.
“Atiku was one of them. Ask him how he built a private university while in office as Vice President in charge of our economy.
Who funded the university for him? It was your money, your effort!”
“A man without moral integrity, latitude, and ethics has no business holding public office,” he added.
Vice President Kashim Shettima urged political leaders and supporters in Rivers and across the South-South to back Tinubu’s re-election, citing the administration’s economic record.
He said Nigeria’s foreign reserves had risen from about $3.9 billion to $60 billion in roughly three years, presenting the increase as evidence that the administration’s reforms were working.
Shettima dismissed Atiku’s economic prescriptions, calling him “intellectually malnourished,” and criticized Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) candidate Peter Obi as politically irrelevant and mediocre.
The rally filled the 40,000-capacity Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, with crowds spilling into surrounding areas.
Dignitaries included First Lady Oluremi Tinubu; Vice President Shettima’s wife, Nana Shettima; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas; APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda; and Presidential Campaign Council Director-General Abdulaziz Yari.
Governors, senators and other federal lawmakers also attended, along with Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila.
Tinubu arrived in Port Harcourt after official engagements and a campaign event in Akwa Ibom State, where he commissioned projects executed by Governor Umo Eno’s administration, the statement reads.
