A director of research at the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Professor Femi Otubanjo, has warned that the political exclusion of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara ahead of the 2027 general elections could prove costly for President Bola Tinubu's re-election bid in the South-South region.
Speaking on Arise News on Thursday, May 28, 2026, Professor Otubanjo argued that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike's hold over Rivers State's political machinery is serving his personal interests rather than advancing the president's electoral agenda.
The scholar noted that Wike's decision to engineer the emergence of Kingsley Chinda as the APC governorship candidate, a fellow upland figure from his own local government, at the expense of the incumbent governor, exposes a significant miscalculation that could alienate a critical voter bloc.
He stated: "Removing Fubara from the scenario means you are alienating the Ijaws and undermining your ability to win Rivers State."
Professor Otubanjo further cautioned that the consequences extend well beyond Rivers State, warning that the move risks pushing away between eight and fourteen million Ijaw voters across the entire South-South geopolitical zone, a constituency President Tinubu had successfully won over ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
