Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike has claimed that Governor Siminalayi Fubara was never meant to return to the 2027 governorship race, saying the Rivers political truce that saved him from impeachment also required him to abandon any second-term ambition.
Speaking on Monday, May 26, after inspecting infrastructure projects in Abuja, Wike said Fubara’s withdrawal from the Rivers governorship contest was not voluntary in the ordinary political sense, but part of an understanding reached during efforts to calm the prolonged crisis in the state.
According to Wike, the deal was clear from the start: the impeachment push against Fubara would be dropped, and in return, the governor would not pursue another term.
“I am not surprised that the governor withdrew. In the first place, he ought not to have collected the form, because agreement was reached that the impeachment should be dropped, while he should also not go about a second term,” Wike said.
That remark places a very different interpretation on Fubara’s earlier public explanation for stepping down from the race.
The governor had said he withdrew from the All Progressives Congress governorship primary after consultations and in the interest of peace, unity and stability in Rivers State.
In a statement titled “My Decision to Withdraw from the Rivers State Gubernatorial Primaries,” Fubara said he arrived at the decision after reflection and discussions with family members, political allies and associates.
READ ALSO: Fubara Withdraws From Rivers APC Governorship Primary
But Wike insisted the governor should never have gone as far as picking up the nomination form, arguing that doing so contradicted the spirit of the reconciliation arrangement and made the peace process more difficult than it needed to be.
He said Fubara’s action earlier in the process “didn’t show signs of gentlemanship” despite repeated moves to restore calm to the state’s political scene.
Still, Wike suggested that the matter had now moved on.
“But whatever it is, he has withdrawn and somebody has emerged,” he stated.
That “somebody” is Kingsley Chinda, whom Wike openly praised as a worthy contender for the Rivers governorship.
“A good product markets itself. Everybody knows that Kingsley Chinda is the material.
“He’s quite experienced. He has worked with the Executive and is now in the Legislature. I am sure that he must have been approached by the All Progressives Congress to join them and then get the ticket,” Wike stated.