Wike's Rainbow Coalition, Fubara's silence shaping Rivers preparations for 2027
There was speculation during the week that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, has found a replacement for his estranged godson and the Governor of
There was speculation during the week that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, has found a replacement for his estranged godson and the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.
Most people referred to the report, which went viral, as the white smoke anticipated from the political sanctuary of the minister. "The white smoke has finally emerged," some people tweeted.
According to the report, which is yet to be formally confirmed by the Minister, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Chief Ohunda Kingsley Chinda, popularly known as OK Chinda, has been anointed as the consensus governorship candidate of the Wike's political family. It was gathered that the Majority Leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Major Jack, has also been selected as Chinda's running mate.
But the loyalists of the governor responded immediately. Some elders from Fubara's camp flew to Abuja and purchased the nomination and expression of interest forms for Fubara. The elders dressed in traditional attire were seen in a picture posing with the forms. Though the governor has yet to confirm that he sent them to purchase the form, sources said Fubara was aware of the new development.
In fact, all eyes are on Fubara to break his silence on the nomination forms and on Wike's political family to officially confirm the anointing of OK Chinda.
The two events have changed the political mood of the state, which, to some observers, had become a place of particular interest ahead of the 2027 poll. Rivers has been unusually quiet. In the entire history of the state, there was never a time it failed to bubble with political activities ahead of any general election. However, the forthcoming general elections seem different. The preparations for the poll have been slow, dull and unexciting.
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In fact, politicians in the state have maintained a loud silence. Most people have buried their ambitions. Others have kept them close to their chests, perhaps waiting for endorsements from particular quarters.
Currently, only two governorship forms have been sold for Rivers by the APC. A two-time governorship aspirant and co-founder of the Sahara Group, Chief Tonye Cole, was the first to purchase the APC forms before the stakeholders bought another for Fubara.
Though few aspirants have purchased forms for the House of Assembly and the National Assembly, the oil-rich state is still witnessing uncommon tranquillity in areas of the election.
Wike’s factor and Fubara's silence
Indeed, analysts argue that the body language of Wike and the silence of the governor should be blamed for the lull in political activities and slow preparations for the general elections. Wike seems to be the decider, the generalissimo and the rallying point for who gets what when and how in the buildup for the election.
The Minister is so politically powerful that he is seen as the ice breaker; the man with the anointing oil, and anybody who fails to get his nod for any position is simply wasting his time and resources. Wike currently controls the two dominant political parties in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Other parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC), are yet to find their footing.
The PDP has been in charge of the state since 1999. With solid structures, the party controlled and dictated all political activities in Rivers. The party became more powerful when Wike was the governor of the state.
But in 2023, after the state Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, was elected on the platform of the PDP, the political structure of the state began to assume a different dimension. The prolonged political crisis that rocked the state from 2023 to early 2026 changed the political trajectory of Rivers.
The political tension between Fubara and Wike, as well as the internal crisis in the PDP at the national level, affected the fortunes of the PDP in the state. It displaced the PDP and made it a second fiddle in the politics of Rivers. The party's fortunes further depleted when the survival instinct of Fubara compelled him to dump the PDP for the APC in 2025. The governor was not the only one who abandoned the PDP; members of the state House of Assembly also left the party.
In a shocking political development, PDP, which was the only political party that controlled the House of Assembly, moved from the majority to the minority. On December 5th, 2025, the Assembly Speaker, Martins Amaewhule and 16 other lawmakers defected to the APC. Everything changed when Amaewhule said: "Distinguished colleagues, let me happily announce to honourable members that your Speaker, Rt Hon Martin Chike Amaewhule, has decided and has indeed written to my Ward Chairman, Mr Osondo Orlu, of my decision to leave the People’s Democratic Party.
"APC is my new party. I will do all that is needed to be done towards ensuring that the party card of the All Progressives Congress is issued to me in no time. I am happy to be a member of the APC so that we can join forces with Mr President. He is doing so much for this country.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu means well for Nigeria. He is tackling issues of security headlong. The President has shown love to Rivers State; he is helping Rivers people to be part of the governance of this country. I am so delighted to be part of the APC so we can support the President right inside the All Progressives Congress."
The deputy speaker, Dumle Maol and other principal officers in the House also toed a similar path as the Speaker. But 10 others remained in the PDP. With 17 APC members against 10 of the PDP, the APC automatically assumed control of the House.
But most observers fingered Wike as the brains behind the entire arrangements in the House of Assembly that altered the political tide of the state. He was said to have given the instructions to the assembly, which has been loyal to him.
Besides the House of Assembly, in another significant political development, the APC came from zero level to win 20 out of the 23 local government areas in the last concluded local government elections in Rivers. The election that was held in August 2025 further diminished the influence of the PDP in the state.
The only local government areas won by the PDP are Obio-Akpor, Port Harcourt City and Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni. But the three local government areas, especially Obio-Akpor and Port Harcourt, always play major roles in deciding the outcome of any election in the state. Indeed, Wike reportedly pulled the stunts that gave the APC the majority of the local government areas.
There is no gainsaying that the APC currently controls the Rivers politics ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the PDP coming second in the state. But Wike still changed the narrative. The two parties are seen as members of the same political family. In a strange, masterful political manoeuvre, Wike brought the two political parties under one family.
The minister currently leads a unique political concept and culture called the Rainbow Coalition (RC). In the coalition, Wike controls the leadership of the APC and that of the PDP. In fact, he enthroned the two leadership in the state and decides how powers are shared between the parties. Wike is behind the Chief Tony Okocha-led APC and that of the PDP initially led by Chukwuemeka Aaron.
Everything in Rivers revolves around the Rainbow Coalition, which comprises members of other political parties. Who gets what, how and when is decided by the Wike's family.
The Minister reportedly designed the system to ensure that Rivers will speak in one voice without rancour in support of the reelection of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. All the crème de la crème currently making waves in Rivers' politics and occupying various positions at the centre hail from the Rainbow Coalition.
There is no difference in identity, political orientation and culture between APC and PDP in the Rainbow Coalition. The entire family is united in the quest to return Tinubu in 2027.
Unless there is a shock in the Rainbow Coalition, the family will decide the next governor of Rivers and the party between the APC and the PDP that will be favoured to occupy the exalted position. The coalition will also decide who to be elected into the House of Assembly and the National Assembly.
It is, therefore, safe to say that the Wike's Rainbow Coalition holds the ace in determining the future of the state and its political platform. It is at the forefront of deciding which of the two parties will win a particular elective position at a given period of time.
Without mincing words, there is no particular threat to the stronghold of the APC and the PDP in their Rainbow Coalition. During the crisis, another political party tried to take over the grassroots administration of the state.
The All Peoples Party (APP), popularly called the elephant party, rose to prominence, and in October 2024, the little known party won 22 out of the 24 local government elections. But on February 28, 2025, the Supreme Court in a landmark judgement voided the election. Immediately after the annulment of the election, the APP went into oblivion and later faded away.
In Rivers State, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has not sparkled or resonated with strength among the residents of the state. Though one of the leaders of the ADC and former Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, hails from Rivers, his home state is yet to bubble with the activities of the party.
The ADC has not done anything significant, apart from recently staging a protest against the leadership of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to show that it is ready to threaten the position of the Rainbow Coalition of the PDP and the APC.
Others touted to be leaders of the ADC in the state, such as former PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, Dr Leloonu Nwibubasa, Andrew Uchendu, John Bazia, Celestine Omehia, Senator Lee Maeba, Austine Opara, and Abiye Sekibo, have yet to commence activities and programmes that will threaten the two leading parties.
Similarly, the Labour Party (LP) seems to have lost its mojo in the state. Unlike in 2023 when LP and the Obideint Movement dominated political discussions in the state, the party has lost its voice ahead of the 2027 elections. No politician of repute has identified with LP ahead of the elections. The party was engulfed in an internal crisis before the faction led by Gogo Wellington collapsed its structures into the ADC.
Perhaps, strict adherence to the directives guiding the rainbow coalition is the reason for the existing political atmosphere ahead of the election. The coalition currently dictates the political temperature of Rivers.
Fubara's Silence
Many stakeholders in Rivers are worried about the unusual silence of Fubara ahead of the 2027 poll. While welcoming the move to purchase governorship forms for the governor, they want the governor to break his silence.
They believe the governor has the constitutional rights, powers and wherewithal to seek a return to power, irrespective of whatever agreements he had with the Rainbow Coalition. They are of the opinion that with Fubara's organic support, he can rally people behind his reelection bid.
Observers opine that with the powers recently bestowed on APC governors to decide the outcome of their state primaries and with the automatic tickets handed down to the first-term governors from the party, Fubara should take advantage of the provisions instead of dragging his feet. The supporter cannot explain why the governor seems to be dragging his feet.
A public affairs analyst and publisher, Opunabo Inko-Tariah, asked the governor to publicly declare his intentions to seek reelection in 2027. Inko-Tariah, a former Special Adviser on Media to former Governor Wike, wondered why the state had witnessed low political activity ahead of next year’s general election.
He lamented that political parties and politicians in the state were not actively preparing for the elections.
But he said the governor should leverage the organic support he still enjoyed in the state to declare his intentions.
Inko-Tariah said, “The primaries are coming up. The sad part of it is that this man (Fubara), even without the nod of Mr President, in a free and fair election, will win because he still has organic support. I will enjoin the governor of Rivers State to contest because he has the organic support. Rivers' people are solidly behind him.”
But the governor may have some reasons for his silence. The odds do not seem to favour him. Ordinarily, he is supposed to be a significant member of and a leader in the Wike's Rainbow coalition. But the relationship between the governor and the Rainbow Coalition has not been cordial despite the last peace agreement. The House of Assembly rejected four of Fubara's commissioner-nominees.
It was gathered that a new list of nominees compiled by the governor is still hanging in the balance. The governor and his benefactor, Wike, have not been found together attending any event, including the recently concluded high profile burial ceremonies.
Besides, though Fubara is an APC governor, he does not control the party structures in the state. The entire structure is under the leadership of the Rainbow Coalition, with Chief Tony Okocha, a principal member of the coalition and Wike's ally, as the chairman of the party in the state.
Not all the federal appointees from the state are loyal to the governor, as they take directives from the leadership of the coalition. The governor does not control the 23 local government councils in Rivers. Their chairmen and councillors are members of the coalition.
Also, Fubara, in the interest of peace, dissolved his grassroots movement popularly called the Simplified Family. The leaders of the family were the brains behind the governor's political sustenance during the crisis. But most of them reportedly left angrily following the dissolution of their structures, while others joined the coalition. Therefore, the governor might consider his reelection an uphill task without endorsement from the Wike-led Rainbow Coalition and in the absence of solid grassroots structures.
However, analysts are of the opinion that Fubara can leverage his position as a governor and the powers attached to his office to pull through. They believe that he could begin by deploying everything within his power to mend fences with the coalition. He could woo, lobby and persuade powerful political interests in the coalition and the state to actualise his ambition. They argue that the masses have shown organic support to the governor and are willing to join him in his reelection journey.
The governor has started receiving some endorsements. Rivers Women Unite for SIM, in conjunction with the Renewed Hope Women of Faith in Politics, a coalition of women threw their weight behind Fubara and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term.
The group described the decision as timely and necessary for the continued implementation of their people-oriented and transformative agenda.
They said Tinubu’s policies aimed at repositioning Nigeria for sustainable peace, security, economic growth, and national development, as well as Fubara's pursuit of inclusive infrastructure and human capital development across the state with his Rivers first strategy, were clear pointers to their endorsement.
The group expressed confidence that the president and the governor would continue to work towards a collective goal of improving Nigeria and Rivers for prosperity, stability and progress.
They further argued that denying the president and governor the opportunity to complete their progressive reforms would disrupt the gains already made across various sectors in Nigeria and local government areas in Rivers. They urged everyone to exercise patience and support them to consolidate their achievements.
In fact, observers believe that the governor should find another way of returning to power outside the influence of Wike. They conclude that with Wike's body language and utterances, it will be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for Wike to support Fubara for a second term.
