Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has publicly declared support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the state’s Rainbow Coalition, including its APC governorship candidate, Ovunda Kingsley Chinda.
Speaking on Tuesday during the foundation-laying ceremony of the RIVEN Medical Industries Project at Rumuosi along the East-West Road in Port Harcourt, the governor called on his supporters to embrace peace and political unity ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Fubara said the era of political crisis in Rivers State has ended and urged residents to rally behind the Rainbow Coalition.
“We have made peace in the state and I am supporting our Rainbow Coalition. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is our President, and the governorship candidate I am supporting is O.K. Chinda. Anyone who believes in me should support every candidate in the Rainbow Coalition,” he stated.
The governor dismissed claims that he was running a separate political agenda, insisting that he has returned to his political family.
“For those saying ‘Fubara, let’s stay, let’s collect something before we move,’ there is nothing to collect. I am already in the family. I have gone back to our family. Please, wherever you are, give your total support to that coalition. We need to move forward. The time of war is over. We are in a time of peace, and this peace will take us to another level,” he said.
Fubara added that he would not be part of anything that could cause division in the state.
“I am not a party to anything that will bring disunity to this state. I have done what I need to do. From now on, we are moving forward,” he declared.
The governor also expressed optimism that the RIVEN Medical Industries Project in Rumuosi, Obio/Akpor LGA, would be completed on schedule. He said the investment would boost the state’s economy through manufacturing, job creation, and industrial growth.
Fubara explained that he only agreed to be part of the event after getting assurances from the project promoters that it would not fail like previous investments.
“Honestly, this is not my style. Before I accepted to attend, I took time to analyze what I was getting into.
I don’t see this as just a groundbreaking because we had something here before that didn’t last. I am here because I am convinced that these investors have the capacity, the willingness, and what it takes to complete this project,” he said.
He noted that the state government is currently facing lawsuits from failed investment agreements, with claims running into over N200 billion, and vowed that his administration would avoid repeating past mistakes.
The Managing Director of ENPIC and the former Commissioner for Health had earlier assured that the investors have both the financial and technical capacity to deliver the project.