By Sarah NEGEDU
President Bola Tinubu will likely be coasting to victory in the 2027 presidential election, especially in Rivers State, where local government chairmen say there is no formidable opposition left owing to the emergence of the “Rainbow Coalition.”
Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, in Rivers State, Hon. Allwell Ihunda, said the coalition, a brainchild of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had united political interests in the state behind the President, giving him a clear electoral advantage ahead of the next general election.
Speaking on the sidelines of the official flag-off of the Tungan Madaki-Zuba road project in Abuja on Monday, Ihunda said, “In Rivers State, the forthcoming election in 2027 is going to be a walkover. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, we have the rainbow coalition where virtually all the political parties are working together just for the interest, for the interest of the federal government, and for the interest of the President”.
Ihunda, who is also the Chairman of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, said the delegation of Rivers council chairmen was in the FCT to identify with Wike and show support for what they described as his remarkable infrastructural transformation of the FCT.
Ihunda who led his colleagues in the state said, said Rivers people were proud of Wike’s performance as FCT minister, noting that the scale of projects being executed under his leadership had continued to attract national attention.
He said, “We are here today in solidarity with our leader, the Honorable Minister of the FCT, His Excellency Chief Barrister Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, the former Governor of River State. We have come to show solidarity for what he’s doing in the Federal Capital Territory.
“We are indeed very happy and proud that a son of River State has decided to change the landscape of the Federal Capital Territory. I believe that if we tell ourselves the truth, this is the first time a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory is turning-around the entire city.
“Projects commissioning and flag-off every day. We are aware that this program is scheduled for 31 days, as we can see today is the 24th day of the commissioning of projects executed in the FCT as part of the commemoration of the third year in office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We are indeed very proud that the son of River State, Chief Nyesom Wike, is the one that is handling all these projects. It shows the capacity and the leadership, the visionary leadership, of the man we have in His Excellency Ezenwo Nyesom Wike.”
He also expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for giving Wike the opportunity to serve in his administration, saying the minister’s performance had further reinforced confidence in the President’s leadership.
“So, we are indeed very proud, and we have come to tell the world that yes, indeed, we are in support of our son. And we are also in support of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, because with what we are seeing and what has been done, it is obvious that come 2027, that River State, and indeed the entire Nigeria, would want the President to come back to continue with his good works for another four years”.
