Rivers state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has endorsed Kingsley Chinda as his preferred successor and urged his supporters to align with the rainbow coalition, declaring that the period of political conflict in the state is over.
Fubara made the declaration on Wednesday, July 22, during the groundbreaking and foundation-laying ceremony of the Rivers medical industry project in Rumuosi, Obio/Akpor local government area of the state.
The governor also reaffirmed his support for president Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid and the rainbow coalition, a political alliance led by the minister of the federal capital territory, Nyesom Wike.
“We have made peace in the state. And I am supporting our rainbow party, or rainbow coalition,” Fubara said.
He also declared his support for Chinda as the coalition’s preferred governorship candidate in Rivers state, urging anyone who believed in him to support Chinda and other candidates under the coalition.
“Oke Chinda is the governorship candidate that I am supporting. And anybody who believes in me will support every candidate that is under the rainbow,” he said.
Fubara called on his loyalists to stop delaying their return to the coalition in anticipation of political appointments or personal benefits, saying he had already reconciled with Wike’s political camp.
“For those of you who are saying, ‘Fubara, let’s stay, we want to collect something before we run,’ there is nothing to collect. I am already in the family.
I’ve gone back to our family. So please, wherever you are, give your total support to that coalition,” he said.
The governor said the state must now move forward, urging his supporters to embrace peace and reject actions that could cause further division.
“We need to move forward. The time of war is over; it’s time for peace. And this peace is taking us to another level,” he said.
Fubara also warned his supporters against using his name to pursue political activities outside the rainbow coalition, insisting that he was no longer interested in anything that could create disunity in the state.
His declaration comes months after he withdrew from the all progressives congress governorship primary in May, following extensive consultations and personal reflection.
The withdrawal came after his reconciliation with Wike, bringing an end to a prolonged political feud that had divided Rivers state and pitched both leaders against each other.
The rainbow coalition is a cross-party political alliance comprising APC loyalists, factions of the peoples democratic party and other political groups aligned with president Tinubu.
Fubara’s endorsement of the coalition, Tinubu and Chinda is expected to shape the political landscape in Rivers state ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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