Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, in a veiled reference to Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has declared that supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu won’t guarantee the governor’s reelection in 2027.
Wike and Fubara have a strained relationship that led to the declaration of state of emergency in the state for six months by President Bola Tinubu.
The governor who was elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party recently decamped to the ruling All Progressives Congress and declared support for Tinubu’s reelection following in the footsteps of nearly all the members of the state House of Assembly, those loyal to the FCT minister.
Speaking during his Enohia LGA visit, Wike in equivocal terms told Fubara to drop any idea that pitching tent with the President would guarantee him another term in office saying, “The issue is not whether you support Tinubu or not. That decision was taken long ago. Nobody needs to come here to tell me they are for Tinubu. Supporting Tinubu will not earn anyone a ticket.
“The Rivers State House of Assembly has done its job. They were the first in Nigeria to declare that, on your mandate, they would stand . So the Tinubu issue is no longer an issue. Do you understand me? Who in Rivers State is not for Tinubu? That alone cannot guarantee anyone a ticket.
“The same people who recently made public declarations are the same ones who took the Assembly to court, seeking to have their seats declared vacant.
“All those now chanting ‘on your mandate we stand’ failed when it mattered most. They could not vote for Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We have never wavered in our support for Bola Ahmed Tinubu. When we take decisions, we do so out of conviction, not because of what others are doing.”
