{"id":124786,"date":"2026-01-05T08:03:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T07:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=124786"},"modified":"2026-01-05T08:03:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T07:03:59","slug":"2027-wike-draws-battle-lines-in-rivers-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/exclusive\/2027-wike-draws-battle-lines-in-rivers-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"2027: Wike Draws Battle Lines In Rivers Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo, Abuja<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has drawn clear political battle lines in Rivers State, declaring that he will not allow himself to be politically buried as alignments for the 2027 polls intensify.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking during a stakeholders\u2019 meeting in Okrika Local Government Area of Rivers State, Wike urged his supporters to rally behind President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2027 elections, insisting that his political camp had taken a definitive position on the future direction of the state and the country.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">According to the former Rivers State governor, a firm decision has already been taken as regards the support for the president, while ruling out backing Governor Siminalayi Fubara for a second term.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe have made a decision as far as Tinubu is concerned. The other one [Fubara] , no way. Because if we make another mistake, then we will go and bury ourselves politically,\u201d Wike said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Emphasising his resolve, he added, \u201cI will not allow myself to be buried. I will not allow that mistake again.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wike had in recent weeks, resumed public criticism of Governor Fubara, following the governor\u2019s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 9.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The FCT Minister accused Fubara of breaching the peace agreement reached prior to the lifting of emergency rule in Rivers State, which paved the way for the governor\u2019s return to office.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Last Tuesday, Wike described the political situation in Rivers as a \u201cleadership mistake\u201d that would be corrected by all means in 2027. He also\u00a0 promised to disclose details of the peace agreement that restored Fubara to power.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In an apparent reference to the governor, Wike said political leaders are expected to serve the will of the people rather than pursue personal interests.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cWe will not make the same mistake again at the state level in 2027, but we will talk about it later when the time comes,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The former governor further argued that Fubara\u2019s support for President Tinubu would not guarantee his re-election, noting that he had backed Tinubu even before the governor joined the APC.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cIf you played well with the first one and succeeded, do you think you can succeed with the second one? There cannot be two markets in one day,\u201d Wike said while addressing stakeholders in Ogba\/Egbema\/Ndoni Local Government Area last Friday.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In a veiled reference to the peace agreements previously signed with Fubara, Wike cautioned against misplaced assurances.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cSo, whoever is assuring you that everything will be fine once you sign on your mandate [Tinubu\u2019s political signature song], you are mistaken,\u201d he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAll of us have decided to work for Bola Ahmed Tinubu. There is no discussion about that. Of course, you know we won\u2019t make the mistake we made last time. We are here to correct the mistake. We will do all we can to ensure that we give Tinubu all the total support that is required.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Wike\u2019s remarks highlight the widening political divide in Rivers State, as rival camps reposition ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the former governor making it clear that loyalty, strategic alignment and past political lessons will shape decisions within his political structure.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo, Abuja Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has drawn clear political battle lines in Rivers State, declaring&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":123045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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