Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has publicly declared his support for the political coalition backed by Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), endorsing Kingsley Chinda as his preferred successor in the state’s 2027 governorship election.
Fubara made the announcement on Wednesday during the commissioning of the Rivers Medical Industries Project in Port Harcourt, signalling a major shift in the political landscape following months of tension between him and Wike.
Addressing supporters, the governor said the political crisis in the state had been resolved and called on his loyalists to support the coalition.
“We have made peace in the state, and we have a total agreement,” Fubara said.
He also pledged support for President Bola Tinubu and the coalition’s candidates.
“I am supporting our rainbow party, our rainbow coalition. President Bola Tinubu is our president and is the one we are supporting.”
The governor went on to endorse Kingsley Chinda, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, urging his supporters to vote for him.
“OK Chinda is the governorship candidate that I am supporting, and anybody who believes in me will support him and every candidate under the rainbow.”
Fubara also told those expecting political benefits before joining the coalition that there was nothing left to negotiate.
“There is nothing to collect. I am already in the family. I have gone back to our family. So please, wherever you are, give your total support to that coalition,” he said.
Chinda, a former Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, emerged as the APC governorship candidate after reportedly polling 268,497 votes during the party’s primary election in May.
Fubara had initially participated in the APC governorship screening process alongside Chinda but later withdrew from the race, saying his decision was made in the interest of peace and unity in Rivers State.
The endorsement comes after a prolonged political feud between Fubara and Wike, which sparked attempts by lawmakers loyal to the FCT minister to impeach the governor before both camps eventually reached a political truce.
The APC screening committee had also reportedly disqualified several aspirants believed to be loyal to Fubara while clearing candidates aligned with Wike for the Rivers State House of Assembly primaries.
