Coalition to Pick Rivers Governor Candidate for 2027, Wike

The Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said that the four political parties in the “Rainbow Coalition” in Rivers State will agree on one governorship candidate for the 2027 elections. He dismissed claims that anyone has already secured the ticket.

Wike spoke on Saturday during a luncheon for coalition candidates in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The event was aired on the Nigerian Television Authority.

He explained that the alliance includes the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), All Progressives Congress (APC), Labour Party (LP), and Action Alliance (AA). They have not yet chosen a flag bearer, as the decision will be made together under the coalition’s leadership.

“The Rainbow Coalition, we have not chosen who will be the governor of Rivers State. But we have party candidates who have emerged under the Rainbow Coalition. The only decision we have taken is that we are going to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Wike said.

Wike, who is a former governor of Rivers State, also mentioned that the Rainbow Coalition is now the leading political group in the state. He added that anyone wanting to run for an elective office must align with the coalition.

He said, “If you want to be important in the politics of Rivers State, come and join the Rainbow Coalition. If you want to be governor, come here.

“If you want to be senator, come here. If you want House of Reps, come here. If you want Assembly, come here. If you want local government, come here. You must come. If you don’t come, you cannot get it.

“You must come here. Everybody here, whether you are APC, whether you are PDP, whether you are in Labour, whether you are AA, you are all okay for the state.”

Wike also dismissed what he called premature victory celebrations among some aspirants. He warned that such claims give a false impression and hurt the coalition process.

He urged all candidates from the four parties to keep working at the grassroots until the coalition reaches a common decision. He said every candidate in the alliance is “okay for Rivers State.”

The minister also talked about what he sees as a long-standing pattern of outsiders exploiting Rivers State’s political issues. He accused some human rights activists, commentators, and media groups of benefiting from this situation. He stated that the Rainbow Coalition was formed to tackle that trend.

“God said no, we must come together as a people, irrespective of our political leanings. What is important is that we must talk about the development of our state. We must talk about the unity of our state,” Wike said.

He criticized smaller political parties, including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). He argued that political noise and defections cannot replace strong electoral systems. He believes that only the PDP, APC, and Labour Party have shown they can handle statewide and national elections across Nigeria.