Why Fubara Did Not Seek Second Term — Wike

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said the political crisis in Rivers State denied Governor Siminalayi Fubara the opportunity to seek a second term, blaming the situation on what he described as poor advice from political associates and external interests.

Wike made the remarks during the August edition of his monthly media chat, broadcast live on Channels Television on Tuesday, while reflecting on his strained relationship with his former political ally.

The former Rivers State governor said he had repeatedly cautioned Fubara against abandoning the political structure that supported his emergence as governor.

"I told him, 'Don't derail.' When I became governor, I also faced challenges. There was nothing in Government House. They didn't even relocate there," Wike said.

He recalled inheriting an administration with limited resources, revealing that he borrowed ceremonial vehicles from former Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko because no official vehicles were available.

"When I assumed office, I had to borrow parade vehicles from Mimiko. There wasn't a single government vehicle available. Before I left office, I had renovated Government House, purchased vehicles for the governor, deputy governor and the governor's wife, and moved out of Government House one and a half years before the end of my tenure," he said.

According to Wike, his expectation was that Fubara would build on the foundation already laid rather than dismantle it.

"Someone had laid a foundation. I said, 'This is where I stopped. Continue from here. Our dream is to make Rivers compete with Lagos.' There is nothing wrong with that," he said.

Wike alleged that some individuals who initially opposed Fubara's emergence later became his close associates and encouraged him to confront those who had supported him politically.

"Those who never wanted you to become governor suddenly became your friends. Their intention was to use you to fight us. In the end, I lost nothing, but you lost. You wanted to seek a second term, but you are not going," he said.

Responding to a question on whether he still cared about Fubara, Wike replied, "If I didn't love him, why would we have supported him in the first place?"

The FCT minister disclosed that reconciliation efforts were made but ultimately failed because of political considerations.

"There was a time we agreed to let bygones be bygones, but a fundamental political issue came up. Some people believed that allowing peace would make us politically irrelevant," he said.

Wike also alleged that external forces sought to gain control of Rivers State for financial benefit.

"There are external forces who want to hijack Rivers State because they see it as a cash cow. Even some Senior Advocates of Nigeria, whom you would never expect, played certain roles and were constantly around the government," he alleged.

According to him, those individuals later encouraged Fubara to resist his political camp.

"They kept telling the governor, 'Don't worry, the law says this and that.' They flew him around in private jets and made him feel untouchable. We said this exploitation of Rivers State had to stop," Wike said.

The political rift between Wike and Fubara began shortly after Fubara assumed office in 2023, with Wike accusing his successor of attempting to dismantle the political structure that produced him and establish an independent political base within his first 100 days in office.

The disagreement later escalated into a prolonged crisis involving the Rivers State House of Assembly, repeated impeachment threats against the governor by lawmakers loyal to Wike, and a six-month state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu in March 2025, during which Fubara and the state legislature were temporarily suspended.

Following his reinstatement, Fubara defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the move was a gesture of appreciation to President Tinubu for his intervention in the crisis.

Although Fubara later obtained nomination forms to contest the APC governorship primary ahead of the 2027 election, he withdrew from the race in May 2026. Wike and his allies have maintained that the withdrawal was consistent with an earlier peace understanding under which the governor agreed not to seek re-election in exchange for the suspension of impeachment efforts.

In July 2026, Fubara publicly announced his return to the political family that brought him to power, joined the Wike-led Rainbow Coalition, a cross-party alliance backing President Tinubu, and endorsed the coalition's preferred governorship candidate.