2027: Fubara backs rainbow coalition, promises Tinubu three million votes

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has pledged to mobilise at least three million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections, while assuring that the state would deliver candidates fielded by the APC-PDP Rainbow Coalition.

Fubara made the pledge on Saturday at Tinubu’s presidential campaign rally at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, Port Harcourt, where he declared that the coalition’s candidates would win in the state despite belonging to different political parties.

He said the mobilisation would be coordinated under the leadership of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is leading the Rainbow Coalition in Rivers.

“Under your guidance and direction, under the guidance and direction of our leader, the coordinator of the presidential campaign council for Rivers State, the Honourable Minister, we will campaign, mobilise our people to secure and deliver a decisive victory with a vote not less than three million for Mr President,” the governor said.

Fubara also addressed the coalition’s arrangement involving candidates from the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party, saying the political alliance would deliver its adopted candidates in the state.

“Let me also put it on record that in Rivers State, notwithstanding that our APC members were doing Rainbow Coalition, and in Rainbow Coalition, we have the slate, the slate runs from APC and PDP.

“We want to assure you that our slate will be delivered come January 2027, Mr President,” he added.

The declaration highlights the unusual political arrangement in Rivers State, where politicians from different parties are campaigning together for Tinubu’s re-election and supporting a common list of candidates for other elective positions.

The Rainbow Coalition is a cross-party political alliance led by Wike to mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election while backing selected candidates from different political parties for governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections.

The arrangement has generated disagreements within the APC because some party leaders want members to support APC candidates at all levels, while Wike’s coalition allows support for candidates from other parties.

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Wike has said politicians could campaign for Tinubu for president but support a PDP candidate for governor or a legislative seat.

The coalition recently unveiled its preferred candidates for the 2027 elections, with Kingsley Chinda, a member of the APC, named as its governorship candidate. Its list also includes candidates from both the APC and PDP for legislative positions.

The arrangement followed the reconciliation between Fubara and Wike after a prolonged political crisis that began in October 2023, barely six months after Fubara became governor.

The disagreement, which centred on control of the state’s political structure, triggered a split in the Rivers State House of Assembly and moves to impeach the governor.

Tinubu declared a state of emergency in March 2025, leading to Fubara’s suspension alongside his deputy and state lawmakers for six months. The governor returned to office in September 2025.

In October 2026, Fubara publicly declared his return to Wike’s political camp, recognised the FCT minister as the leader of the Rainbow Coalition and unveiled its adopted candidates in Rivers.

The governor had also urged his supporters to abandon factional divisions and work with the coalition, saying the political disagreement between him and Wike was over.

Saturday’s rally was part of Tinubu’s political engagements ahead of the 2027 general elections. Wike had earlier projected that at least 70,000 people would attend the event, held at the 40,000-capacity Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium.

The presidential and National Assembly elections are scheduled for January 16, 2027, while governorship and state assembly elections will hold on February 6.