Join Me In Rainbow Coalition Or Leave, Fubara Tells Supporters
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said his supporters who are unwilling to join the Rainbow Coalition are free to leave, insisting that his decision to return to his political family is non-negotiable.
Fubara stated this on Thursday during the inauguration of the Rivers State All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council Rainbow Coalition in Port Harcourt.
Congratulating members whose names appeared on the campaign council list, the governor urged those who were omitted not to be discouraged, noting that there were still sub-committees and that the list could be updated.
He, however, warned against divided loyalty, urging his supporters to remain committed to the coalition.
He stated, “We still have sub-committees. The list can also be updated so you don’t have any problems to worry about. The most important thing is to work with your heart sincerely.
“Don’t openly say you’re with me and behold you’re doing a different thing. I’m here, and I say it boldly anywhere any day. And no anybody who says he is not with me, gently go your way.”
The governor acknowledged that the new political reality following the prolonged crisis in the state might be difficult to accept but urged his supporters to put the past behind them and focus on the future.
“Don’t go behind and say this is Fubara, no, no, no. I have said it. It might be difficult but we have gone past that. We are looking at the future and what God holds for us,” he said.
He charged members of the campaign council to work together towards achieving their objectives, expressing confidence that the coalition’s candidates would secure victory in the forthcoming elections.
He added, “Nothing is impossible. Provided it’s something that has to do with life, it is possible if we take it as a serious responsibility, a serious task that must be achieved, we will come out with a stronger vote than what we did in 2023.
“It is only for us to say yes, we want to do it. And I am very sure that with the strategy of these forthcoming elections we are going to come out with good results better than what we had before.”
Fubara thanked the Coordinator of the Rivers State Presidential Campaign Council, Nyesom Wike, and other leaders for their efforts in establishing the council.
Earlier, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Wike, who inaugurated the council, announced that campaign councils would soon be established across the state’s 23 local government areas.
He said the coalition would adopt a different campaign approach by engaging residents through community gatherings, family meetings and age-grade associations.
Wike said, “We are going away from that ceremonial campaign style. When we are going to Gokana today, we just stay in one field and begin to talk to those we already know.
“It is going to be different. This time around we are going round to communities, to family meetings, to age grade meetings and other informal sects to talk to them, not necessarily those we meet with every day.
“You and I meet every day; then tomorrow again we gather in one place, we say we are holding a rally. We must depart from that.”
The minister commended Fubara for attending the inauguration and other engagements of the council despite his busy schedule.
Wike, who is also the National Leader of the PDP/Rainbow Coalition, said members of the newly inaugurated council were selected based on their capacity to participate in the group’s activities and deliver results.
He urged them to work towards securing votes for the candidates of the APC and the Rainbow Coalition in next year’s presidential, governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
He added that, apart from the Presidential Campaign Council and its sub-committees, local government campaign councils would soon be inaugurated to strengthen the coalition’s grassroots mobilisation.
The development comes against the backdrop of the prolonged political dispute between Fubara and Wike, who served as Rivers governor from 2015 to 2023 and supported Fubara’s emergence as his successor.
Their disagreement, which became public in October 2023, centred on control of the state’s political structures and influence over the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The crisis led to a division among lawmakers and repeated impeachment moves against Fubara.
The dispute escalated in March 2025 when President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended the governor, his deputy and members of the state House of Assembly for six months.
The elected officials returned to office in September 2025 after the emergency rule ended.
Efforts to reconcile the two camps gathered momentum in 2026 after Wike announced an end to the feud and a reconciliation committee was constituted to engage Fubara and his supporters.
The Rainbow Coalition, led by Wike, brings together political actors from different parties, including the APC and PDP, in support of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
Fubara subsequently declared support for the coalition and endorsed Kingsley Chinda as his preferred successor in the 2027 Rivers governorship election.
He also withdrew from the APC governorship contest, saying his decision was in the interest of peace and unity in the state.
