Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has reportedly met with key members of the Rivers State Rainbow Coalition in Spain ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, who recently declared his support for the coalition, was not part of the meeting.
The reported meeting involved Wike and some prominent political figures linked to the coalition, including the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Rivers State, Kingsley Ogundu Chinda.
Also said to have participated were Chief Marcus Nle Ejii, Executive Director, Projects and Infrastructural Development, South South Development Commission, and Senator Mao Ohabunwa, Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt.
The meeting, reportedly held in Malaga, Spain, comes at a politically sensitive period in Rivers State, with the 2027 election cycle moving into a more active phase.
Details of what was discussed at the meeting have not been officially made public.
Earlier this month on September 2, Wike publicly referred to Chinda as the person he expects to succeed Fubara as governor.
Speaking at a reception organised in his honour by Ogbakor Ikwerre in Obiri-Ehie, Wike introduced Chinda as the “former Minority Leader in the House of Representatives and, by the grace of God, the next governor of Rivers State.”
Wike also reaffirmed his support for the Rainbow Coalition and President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The minister said those who believed in him should support the candidates of the coalition.
“I am supporting our Rainbow Coalition. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is our President, and it is the one we are supporting. The governorship candidate is the candidate I am supporting, and anybody who believes in me will support every candidate under the Rainbow Coalition,” he said.
In July, the governor publicly announced that he had returned to the political family associated with Wike.
He also backed Chinda for the 2027 governorship election.
“I am already in the family. I have returned to our family. Give your total support to the coalition. The time of war is over; it is now time for peace, and that peace will take us to another level,” Fubara said in July.
Fubara, meanwhile, remains in office until the end of his current tenure and has said his focus is on governance rather than another governorship bid.
His decision not to pursue a second term has left the Rivers governorship contest open to a new battle between Chinda and candidates from other political parties.
In a related development, Fubara met with Wike on August at the FCT minister’s residence in Port Harcourt in what was described as another step in the reconciliation process between the two politicians.
The meeting was the first reported direct meeting between Wike and Fubara since the governor withdrew from the 2027 governorship race.
Fubara arrived at Wike’s residence with former APC Deputy National Chairman, Sam Jaja.
Wike was accompanied by Chinda and former senator Magnus Abe, who chairs the Rainbow Coalition reconciliation committee.
The meeting came only weeks after Fubara formally declared his support for the Rainbow Coalition and endorsed Chinda as his preferred successor.