Wike Welcomes Fubara’s Return, Says Rivers Leaders Will Support Tinubu’s 2027 Re-election

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said that Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has corrected his political mistakes by returning to the political family that produced him as governor.

Wike made the remarks on Tuesday while inspecting ongoing road projects in Abuja alongside senior officials of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

The FCT minister was reacting to Fubara’s recent declaration of support for the Rainbow Coalition during the inauguration of the Rivers Medical Industries Project in Port Harcourt on July 22.

At the event, the governor also endorsed Kingsley Chinda, an ally of Wike and the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, as his preferred successor.

Speaking on the development, Wike said politics should not be driven by personal grievances, adding that there was nothing wrong with admitting mistakes and embracing reconciliation.
“In politics, there is no sin. If someone realises they made a mistake and decides to correct it, there is nothing wrong with that,” he said.

Wike noted that he had anticipated Fubara’s return, insisting that the governor had no viable political alternative outside the platform that brought him to power.

“I said during my last media chat that he had no other choice but to return to the same political family that produced him. I have now been informed that he has made that declaration publicly, and we welcome him,” the minister stated.

He added that the reconciliation would strengthen political cooperation in Rivers State and help mobilise support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

“We will all work together to move the state forward and ensure that we deliver the votes President Tinubu needs for his re-election,” Wike said.

Wike and Fubara had been involved in a prolonged political crisis that polarised the Rivers political landscape and led lawmakers loyal to the FCT minister to initiate impeachment proceedings against the governor before both camps eventually reached a truce.

The reconciliation was followed by Fubara’s decision to withdraw from the APC governorship primary race after initially being screened alongside Chinda.

The governor said he stepped down out of conviction and in the interest of peace, unity and political stability in Rivers State.

His withdrawal came shortly after the APC screening committee reportedly cleared aspirants aligned with Wike for the Rivers House of Assembly primaries while disqualifying several of Fubara’s allies.