Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has declared his support for the Rainbow Coalition backed by Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Fubara made his position known on Wednesday during the commissioning of the Rivers Medical Industries Project in Port Harcourt, where he endorsed Kingsley Chinda, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, as his preferred successor.
“We have made peace in the state, and we have a total agreement,” he said.
“I am supporting our rainbow party, our rainbow coalition. President Bola Tinubu is our president and is the one we are supporting.
“OK Chinda is the governorship candidate that I am supporting, and anybody who believes in me will support him and every candidate under the rainbow.
“For those of you 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 have gone back to our family. So please, wherever you are, give your total support to that coalition.”
Chinda, a former minority leader of the House of Representatives and the sole contestant in the APC governorship primary, was declared the winner after securing 268,497 votes in the May exercise.
Fubara had initially been screened alongside Chinda for the APC governorship primary but later withdrew from the race, saying his decision was based on his conviction and commitment to the peace and unity of Rivers State.
The APC screening committee reportedly disqualified some of Fubara’s allies from the Rivers State House of Assembly primaries while clearing aspirants loyal to Wike.
Fubara and Wike had previously been involved in a prolonged political dispute, which led to impeachment attempts against the governor by lawmakers loyal to the FCT minister. The two camps eventually reached a political truce.
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