The reelection bid of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has received a big boost following the disagreement between some Ijaw politicians and Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja over his alleged interest in presenting a non Ijaw candidate to contest against Fubara in 2027.
Some Ijaw politicians inside the Rainbow Coalition, a political bloc, made up of politicians loyal to Wike, who had hoped that one of them would contest against Fubara were unhappy that the FCT minister was allegedly settling for a serving House of Representatives member, who is also an Ikwerre.
Sources disclosed that the Ijaw are of the opinion that whatever grouse Wike has against Fubara, power must remain in Ijawland and are strongly opposed to its return to Ikwerre. The main aim of the Rainbow Coalition was to frustrate Fubara’s reelection bid but as frustration mount against Wike, the grip he once held may slip away if he insists on the route he has chosen.
An informed source disclosed that some members of the coalition were currently weighing their options, and might take a decision that could completely alter the state’s power dynamics in 2027. “The Rainbow Coalition, from the beginning, was all about replacing Fubara with another Ijaw politician.
That’s one of the reasons why prominent Rivers Ijaw also supported the coalition. It was not about an Ikwerre politician taking over from Fubara, who has not committed any offence. “It will amount to nothing other than political suicide for an Ikwerre to return as governor after the combined 16 years of Amaechi and Wike.
Rivers State does not belong to a particular ethnic nationality.” Also, lawmakers in the Rivers State House of Assembly and their counterparts in the National Assembly are currently plotting of how to win their reelection bid with the backing of Fubara.
This follows President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to turn down the request by members of the party at the National Assembly for automatic tickets for election, automatically making Fubara the decider of who gets ticket for reelection.
Tinubu, who ruled out such arrangement, reportedly stated that it would undermine party structure and internal democracy, stressing that governors, as leaders of party machinery in their respective states, must remain in charge of the selection processes of candidates.
Like other governors, ultimately, Fubara as the leader of the APC in Rivers, will preside over the process that will produce the candidates that will get the chance to contest any elective position in 2027 under the party.
The majority of the proWike lawmakers, who had defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), according to findings, may still return to the PDP, which still remains under the control of Wike.
With the exception of a handful of lawmakers loyal to Fubara, the others are leading loyalists of Wike, who worked all along with Wike in the coalition to deny Fubara the second term ticket.
Meanwhile, the state chairman of the party, Chukwudi Dimkpa, and ally of Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, has said that Wike lacked what it takes to decide who becomes the governor in 2027, noting that it was the electorate that wields such power. Dimkpa said that election ultimately rests with the electorate, and determined through democratic participation, and not via pronouncement by an individual.
Dimkpa noted that the ADC is positioning itself as a platform focused on transparency, internal democracy, and broad-based participation.
The Rivers ADC chairman said that the ADC is gradually building an inclusive political movement that reflects the interests of Rivers voters, by promoting balance and inclusion in the state, particularly between riverine and upland communities.
Dimkpa added that the party would combine equity with competence, adopt a consultative approach in selecting its candidate and continue to take decisions aimed at fostering unity and strengthening democratic processes.
