By Samuel Olusegun
Ahead of the 2027 General Election and as part of efforts to present a common front, members of the Rainbow Coalition Reconciliation Committee, led by Senator Magnus Abe have met Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Kingsley Chinda, was also present at the meeting.
The visit was part of efforts to bring in former allies who fell apart during the heat of the crisis that engulfed the state since October 2023. The meeting was part of broader strategies aimed at building political synergy and fostering consensus among major stakeholders in the state.
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, announced recently on a live television interview that Senator Abe would lead the coalition committee to reconcile all aggrieved parties in the political crisis. He blamed Governor Fubara, who was his godson for listening to wrong advisers during the crisis. The governor was denied the ticket for a second term as part of the reconciliation process. His supporters were not happy with the decision and the reconciliation process is expected to factor in such grievances.
The governor had in July during an event declared himself a member of the Rainbow Coalition, a move seen by keen observers as his final capitulation to his political godfather.
The state had been plunged into crisis with 27 state lawmakers solidly behind the FCT minister and the state ungovernable with multiple threats of impeachment. The governor, on his part, had three lawmakers whom he worked with until the Supreme Court ruled against him in February, 2025. A state of emergency was also declared for six months from March 2025 where both the executive and legislative arms of government were suspended.
Since then, the FCT minister gained the upper hand.
