Wike Reveals Why Fubara Lost Chance to Seek Second Term in Rivers State

Wike Reveals Why Fubara Lost Chance to Seek Second Term in Rivers State

Wike Reveals Why Fubara Lost Chance to Seek Second Term in Rivers

Nyesom Wike says the Rivers political crisis, poor advice and external interests contributed to Siminalayi Fubara losing the chance to seek a second term in 2027.

FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has blamed the prolonged political crisis in Rivers State for Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s decision not to pursue a second term, saying poor political advice and the influence of external interests contributed significantly to the breakdown of their relationship.

Wike made the claim during his August monthly media chat, aired live on Channels Television, as he reflected on his turbulent political relationship with Fubara, his successor as governor of Rivers State.

The former Rivers governor said he had repeatedly advised Fubara to maintain the political structure that helped him secure the governorship in 2023 rather than attempt to dismantle it and establish an entirely independent political base.

According to Wike, the disagreement ultimately became costly for Fubara, whose ambition to remain in office beyond his first term was eventually abandoned.

The comments have renewed attention on the political drama that has shaped Rivers State since 2023 and raised fresh questions about the influence of political godfathers, party structures and alliances ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections.

Wike: Fubara Was Advised to Abandon His Political Structure

Wike said his concerns about Fubara’s political direction began shortly after the governor assumed office.

The FCT minister argued that Fubara inherited a political structure and development foundation that had been built during his administration and should have been strengthened rather than dismantled.

Wike recalled that when he became governor of Rivers State, he inherited what he described as a difficult situation, including inadequate government vehicles and facilities.

He said his administration nevertheless worked to improve the state’s infrastructure and institutional capacity before handing over to Fubara.

Wike explained that his expectation was for his successor to continue from where he stopped and pursue his broader vision of making Rivers State capable of competing economically and developmentally with Lagos.

His position, according to his latest remarks, was that continuity would have benefited both Fubara and the state.

Instead, Wike said, Fubara was encouraged by people who had previously opposed his emergence as governor to challenge the political structure that had supported him.

The FCT minister suggested that some individuals who later became close to Fubara were motivated by their own political interests and saw the disagreement as an opportunity to weaken Wike’s influence in Rivers State.

Wike Says Fubara’s Second-Term Ambition Was Affected

The most striking part of Wike’s latest comments was his assertion that the political confrontation ultimately affected Fubara’s second-term ambition.

Wike said that while the political crisis did not cost him personally, Fubara suffered a major political setback.

He pointed to Fubara’s decision not to contest the 2027 governorship election as evidence of the consequences of the prolonged dispute.

“Your intention was to go for a second term, is it not correct? And you are not going,” Wike said during the media chat.

Fubara had initially obtained nomination forms to participate in the APC governorship process but later withdrew from the party’s governorship primary.

In May 2026, the Rivers governor announced that he was stepping down from the APC governorship primary and pledged to support whoever emerged as the party’s candidate.

Fubara said at the time that his decision followed consultations with family members, friends and political associates, while stressing that peace, stability and unity in Rivers State should take precedence over individual political ambitions.

That decision effectively removed him from the contest for the APC governorship ticket and became a major turning point in Rivers State politics.

‘If I Don’t Love Him, Why Would We Support Him?’

Despite their bitter political confrontation, Wike rejected the suggestion that his actions against Fubara were motivated by hatred.

When asked whether he still loved his former political ally, Wike responded that his previous support for Fubara was itself evidence of his goodwill toward him.

Wike argued that he and his political allies supported Fubara’s emergence because they believed he was the right person to succeed him as governor.

His comments suggest that he views the crisis less as a personal disagreement and more as a political dispute triggered by Fubara’s decision to move away from the structure that brought him into office.

The statement also reflects the complicated relationship between political sponsorship and political independence in Nigeria, particularly where a successor seeks to establish an independent political base after assuming office.

Wike Alleges Influence of External Interests

Wike also alleged that people outside the immediate political structure of Rivers State became heavily involved in the dispute.

According to him, some external interests viewed Rivers State as a source of political and financial influence and wanted to gain control of the state’s political machinery.

He described Rivers as a “cash cow” and alleged that some influential individuals attempted to use their proximity to the governor to exert political influence.

Wike further claimed that some senior lawyers and other influential figures who had previously been involved in government later became advisers to Fubara during the dispute.

He accused them of giving the governor what he described as bad political advice and encouraging him to resist his former political allies.

These claims are Wike’s allegations and have not been independently established in the reports reviewed.

Nevertheless, they provide insight into how the FCT minister currently interprets the events that produced one of Nigeria’s most prominent political conflicts in recent years.

How the Wike-Fubara Political Crisis Began

The dispute between Wike and Fubara became public shortly after Fubara assumed office in 2023.

Fubara had been widely regarded as Wike’s preferred successor after serving in his administration as Accountant-General of Rivers State.

However, the relationship between the two men deteriorated rapidly.

The disagreement spread beyond the governor and former governor and became intertwined with the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Lawmakers loyal to different political camps became involved, while impeachment threats against Fubara intensified.

The crisis affected governance in the state and generated multiple legal and political battles.

Eventually, the confrontation reached a point where the Federal Government intervened.

Tinubu’s 2025 Emergency Rule Changed Rivers Politics

In March 2025, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy and members of the state House of Assembly.

The emergency rule followed months of political confrontation between Fubara and the state legislature.

The crisis had reached a stage where governance was significantly disrupted, prompting the President to invoke his constitutional powers.

The emergency lasted six months. In September 2025, Tinubu lifted the emergency rule and reinstated Fubara and the state lawmakers, saying conditions had improved sufficiently for democratic governance to resume.

The intervention became one of the most controversial chapters in the Rivers political crisis and further elevated the dispute from a state-level disagreement into a major national political issue.

Fubara Later Moved Into the APC

Following the crisis and subsequent political developments, Fubara moved from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

The governor later became increasingly aligned with the political structure surrounding President Bola Tinubu.

However, his political future remained uncertain as the 2027 election approached.

Although Fubara obtained the APC nomination form to seek another term, he eventually withdrew from the governorship primary in May 2026.

His decision generated widespread speculation about the political agreement reached among the various camps in Rivers State.

Wike’s latest comments have now added another dimension to that discussion, as he openly linked the governor’s inability to seek a second term to the political confrontation that began after the 2023 election.

Fubara and Wike Camp Appear to Have Reached a Truce

Despite the years of hostility, the political atmosphere in Rivers State has changed significantly in recent months.

In July 2026, Fubara publicly declared support for the Rainbow Coalition associated with Wike.

He also backed President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 presidential ambition and endorsed Kingsley Chinda as the coalition’s preferred governorship candidate in Rivers State.

Fubara described the political conflict as over and urged his supporters to work with the coalition.

The development represented a dramatic reversal from the bitter political confrontation that had dominated Rivers State politics for several years.

For observers, the new alignment suggests that the former political allies have reached a pragmatic understanding, even though the details and long-term implications of their reconciliation remain subjects of political discussion.

What Wike’s Latest Statement Means for 2027

Wike’s latest remarks are significant because Rivers State remains strategically important in Nigeria’s political calculations ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The state is one of the country’s major oil-producing areas and has considerable political influence in the South-South region.

With Fubara no longer seeking the APC governorship ticket and publicly supporting the Rainbow Coalition, attention has shifted toward the coalition’s preferred candidate and the political structure that will determine the next phase of Rivers politics.

The development could also affect the balance of power between the APC, PDP and emerging political alliances in the state.

For Wike, maintaining political influence in Rivers remains important even though he currently serves as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

For Fubara, the latest political realignment could provide an opportunity to complete his tenure without another prolonged confrontation with the political structure that helped bring him to office.

The Bigger Lesson From the Rivers Political Crisis

The Wike-Fubara dispute offers a broader example of how political succession can create tension within Nigerian political structures.

A politician may help another individual secure an elective position, but once the successor assumes office, questions of independence, loyalty and control can quickly emerge.

The Rivers crisis demonstrated how such disagreements can move from private political negotiations to public confrontations involving lawmakers, courts, political parties and eventually the Federal Government.

It also showed how political conflicts can have consequences beyond individual ambitions.

For Rivers residents, the most important issue remains whether the current peace will translate into stable governance, economic development and improved public services.

The state has experienced years of political uncertainty, and the latest reconciliation could give the government and political actors an opportunity to focus more directly on governance.

Wike-Fubara Relationship: What Happens Next?

Wike’s latest statement appears to close another chapter in the long-running political dispute, but it may not end public discussion about what happened between the two men.

The former governor insists that Fubara’s political difficulties resulted partly from abandoning the structure that produced him and accepting advice from people Wike believed did not have his successor’s best interests at heart.

Fubara, meanwhile, has chosen a different political path by publicly embracing the coalition associated with his former political benefactor and supporting its candidates for the 2027 elections.

The political relationship between the two men has therefore moved from confrontation to an apparent truce.

Whether that truce will endure beyond the 2027 elections remains to be seen.

For now, however, Wike’s latest remarks have reopened the debate over one of Nigeria’s most closely watched political battles and provided his clearest explanation yet for why he believes Fubara ultimately lost the opportunity to pursue a second term.

Nyesom Wike’s latest comments have reignited attention on the political crisis that transformed his relationship with Siminalayi Fubara from close allies into rivals.

Wike maintains that Fubara’s decision to challenge the political structure that brought him to power, combined with what he described as poor advice and external political influence, contributed to the collapse of their relationship.

The governor’s subsequent withdrawal from the APC governorship primary in May 2026 confirmed that he would not pursue another term through the party.

Yet, in a striking political turnaround, Fubara later publicly backed Wike’s Rainbow Coalition, President Tinubu and the coalition’s preferred Rivers governorship candidate.

The Rivers political crisis may have changed direction, but its impact on the state’s political landscape will likely remain a major issue as Nigeria moves toward the 2027 elections.

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