River State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has promised to deliver no fewer than three million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 16 January 2027 presidential election, at a rally that filled the 40,000-capacity Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt on Saturday.
The rally was organised by the Rainbow Coalition, the political platform led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and drew leaders and supporters from across Rivers State and beyond. Crowds spilled into the precincts of the stadium, the largest sporting facility in the state.
“Under the guidance and leadership of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, we will deliver not less than three million votes for you,” Mr Fubara told the President, adding that APC and PDP supporters were working together under the coalition.
President Tinubu, who arrived from engagements in Akwa Ibom State, commended the turnout and singled out the reconciliation between Mr Fubara and his predecessor, Mr Wike, after the political crisis that unsettled the state.
“I thank Governor Fubara, in particular, for his maturity, understanding, and respect for the wisdom of elders when we intervened. Fubara, you will not regret what you have done as long as all of us are alive,” the President said.
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On the economy, Mr Tinubu said his administration was clearing inherited liabilities, including pensions and gratuities, and claimed that arrears owed in 27 of the 36 states had been settled. He also attacked former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, questioning how he funded a private university while in office.
Vice President Kashim Shettima urged leaders and supporters in the South-South to back the President’s re-election, citing rising foreign reserves and the administration’s record in the region.
In his welcome address, Mr Wike said the turnout showed Rivers people had already made up their minds. “This is Rivers State’s rally. We did not mobilise anybody from any other state,” he said, thanking the President for what he described as no fewer than 47 federal appointments for Rivers indigenes, and citing projects including the Bonny–Bodo Road and the Federal University of Environment in Ogoniland.
Separately, the Directorate of Women Mobilisation of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, led by Dr Betta Edu, took the First Lady’s grassroots mobilisation initiative to women across the state’s local government areas. The team met traders, market women, youths and community leaders, and visited hospitals in Port Harcourt as part of outreach to women, children and vulnerable groups.
The directorate said effective mobilisation must go beyond rallies to direct engagement with voters in their homes, markets and communities, framing the effort around the Renewed Hope Agenda and the grassroots vision of First Lady Oluremi Tinubu.
Dignitaries at the rally included the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu; Nana Shettima, wife of the Vice President; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas; APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda; and the Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari.
Crediblenewsng.com
