Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has thrown his weight behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second term bid and endorsed Hon. Kingsley Ogundu Chinda as the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for Rivers State in the 2027 general election, declaring an end to hostilities with his estranged godfather, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Speaking on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Riven Medical Industries Project in Port Harcourt, Fubara announced his full membership of the Wike-led Rainbow Coalition, describing the political reconciliation as a return to the ruling party’s fold in the state.
“As a loyal member of the APC, I have also become a member of the Rainbow Coalition, the political group put together by my predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike to advance the interests of the ruling party in Rivers State,” Fubara said.
The governor urged his supporters across the state to rally behind the coalition’s candidates, stressing that the era of political rivalry between his camp and Wike’s had come to a close.
“We have made peace in the state and I am supporting our Rainbow Coalition. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is our president, and is the one we are supporting. Chinda is the governorship candidate that I am supporting and anybody who believes in me will support him and every other candidate that is under the Rainbow Coalition,” he said.
Fubara was emphatic that his political base should not misread his position, warning against any residual factionalism among his followers.
“I want this to be made clear to everybody. So, don’t go anywhere and say you’re supporting Fubara…. No. No. No. My position is this: I have said it here and clearly for everyone to hear. If you’re not hearing we’ll use cotton wool to clean your ears and let it enter well. I’m not party to anything that will bring any form of disunity in this state,” he said.
On the medical project itself, Fubara described it as a positive development for the state but cautioned against a repeat of past disputes in which investors were granted operating rights only to default on agreed terms, resulting in litigation. He said his administration backed the project on the strength of the new investors’ capacity to revive it, generate jobs, and drive economic growth.
According to a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Onwuka Nzeshi, the project is projected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, drive technology transfer, attract local and foreign investment, and position Rivers State as a leading pharmaceutical manufacturing and healthcare investment hub in Nigeria and West Africa. The statement added that the ceremony marked the start of a transformative push toward sustainable industrial growth, economic diversification, and improved healthcare outcomes for the state.
