The governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has declared Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as the leader of the Rainbow Coalition.
He spoke on Tuesday while addressing supporters at the unveiling of the coalition’s candidates in Rivers state with Wike in attendance.
Fubara asked members of the Rainbow Coalition to stop identifying with different political figures as their leaders, describing Wike as the “leader of the Rainbow Coalition” and his “Oga”.
The governor who appears to be politically defeated, noted that some members who supported him during the political crisis in Rivers still maintained separate leadership identities despite the new political arrangement.
He said the different groups had now come together under one umbrella and should no longer see themselves as separate political camps.
“I’m aware that there are some issues when some persons who followed me when we had the crisis, when you’re in your meeting, you say, ‘my leader, my leader’,” he said.
“We are now in one house. And because we have one house, there is no issue about who is the leader.”
He added that although some members might still see him as their leader, they should recognise Wike’s position in the coalition.
He urged members to resolve the issue and move forward as one political family, cautioning against statements that could suggest competing leadership structures within the alliance.
“I might be your Oga, but we have a common leader now,” he said.
“So please, going forward, this issue of ‘my leader, my leader, my leader’—I want it resolved here.”
