Wike meets Fubara’s supporters, says ‘Tinubu’s 2nd term offers Rivers more Benefits
BY STEPHEN GBADAMOSI
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has declared that throwing total support behind President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid is the strategic key to unlocking unprecedented political appointments, infrastructure development, and lasting national relevance for Rivers State.
Speaking on Monday during an interactive meeting with supporters of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Fubara-aligned youth leaders in Port Harcourt, Wike emphasised that aligning with the Federal Government would secure the state’s position as a powerhouse in national politics.
Wike’s media aide, Lere Olayinka, disclosed this in a statement on Monday.
The FCT Minister urged party faithful, youth groups, and local stakeholders to put past grievances behind them, forgive past missteps, and rally solidly behind President Tinubu.
He stressed that politics was about calculating where the state stood to gain the most leverage.
“All I want to hear in this state is Tinubu and nothing but Tinubu. 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,” he said.
Pointing to tangible achievements, Wike noted that the current administration had broken records in terms of high-profile federal appointments awarded to indigenes of Rivers State.
He added that a massive voter turnout for the President would guarantee even greater stakes and bumper opportunities for the state’s populace, particularly the youth.
Reflecting on his political journey and stewardship, Wike explained that his primary motivation was ensuring Rivers State remained a central fixture in national decision-making, where no president could afford to sideline the state’s leadership.
He highlighted infrastructural milestones, such as the construction and opening of major roadways like the Bonny road, as direct evidence of President Tinubu’s commitment to delivering legacy projects for the region.
The minister also addressed internal party alignment, noting that local political structures across different platforms were collapsing into a unified front to back the President.
Acknowledging that political transitions and alliances naturally came with friction, rumours, and minor disagreements, Wike called for calm and reconciliation at the grassroots level.
He assured those who might have felt sidelined that structured reconciliation committees were working to ensure no genuine member of the family was left behind.
“We are talking for survival and growth,” Wike said, charging local government youths leaders to return to their bases, mend fences, and prepare for the upcoming campaign committees and the President’s scheduled visit to the state.
“I am not going to be governor again; this is for your own interest. I want this state to grow. I want this state to play an important role in the politics of Nigeria,” he concluded.
Earlier, former Mayor of Port Harcourt, Mr. Ezebunwo Ichemati, who spoke on behalf of the governor’s supporters, declared the readiness of the group to work closely with Wike to deliver Rivers to Tinubu and other candidates under the Rainbow Coalition.
Ichemati said the meeting marked a major turning point in the Rivers political landscape, signaling a consolidated front between the Wike and Fubara camps as strategic preparations intensify for 2027 general elections.
He declared that the group was fully committed to joining forces with the political coalition to deliver Tinubu, including Mr. Kinsley Chinda vying for governor of the state in upcoming elections.
He described the recent political crisis in Rivers State as a temporary domestic dispute that had now given way to family unity.
“Every family has its own peculiarity in problems. What matters most is that the family comes together, the children watch what has divided them, and decide to move forward.
“If today, a marriage faces a problem, some children will go to their father, some will go to their mother. But when a truce is made, the family comes back together—and that is what has happened today,” he said.
Addressing Wike directly, Ichemati acknowledged the FCT Minister as the undisputed leader of Rivers politics, while crediting both Wike and Governor Fubara for initiating the peace deal that brought the warring factions together.
He emphasised that Governor Fubara was fully aware and supported the meeting with the FCT Minister.
Ichemati said that reconciliation went far beyond rhetoric, pledging that the vast network of grassroots youths who served as political foot soldiers during the crisis would now act as a formidable force for the coalition.
