Fubara pledges at least three million Rivers votes for Tinubu as the Wike-led APC–PDP Rainbow Coalition is announced
Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara pledged on Saturday 7 November 2026 to deliver at least three million votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, speaking at a Rainbow Coalition campaign rally at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt. Fubara credited FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who leads the coalition joining APC and PDP members behind Tinubu and a common slate of candidates. Tinubu urged young people to collect their Permanent Voter Cards and take part, saying the election was about their future. INEC puts Rivers' registered voters at 3,736,434; in 2023, all presidential candidates together won about half a million votes in the state.
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Key points
- Fubara pledged 'not less than three million votes' for Tinubu in 2027, crediting Wike's leadership of the Rainbow Coalition.
- The coalition joins APC and PDP members behind Tinubu and a common slate, including Kingsley Chinda for governor.
- Tinubu told young people to collect their PVCs, saying the election is about their future, not his ambition.
- Rivers has 3,736,434 registered voters on INEC's register; its whole 2023 presidential vote was about half a million.
What happened
The rally at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium was the public sealing of the reconciliation between Fubara and his predecessor Wike, whose feud split Rivers politics for two years and culminated in the March 2025 state of emergency, when Tinubu suspended the governor, his deputy and the state assembly. Tinubu thanked Rivers voters for their 2023 support and commended the two men for resolving their differences, and presented his manifesto for 2027 at the rally.
The pledge's arithmetic is the story's open question. Three million votes would be roughly four-fifths of everyone registered in Rivers and about six times the total votes cast for all candidates in the state in 2023. The final register for 2027 is due to be certified on 15 December 2026.
Claim by claim
Why this label: The pledge is Fubara's own words at the rally, quoted identically by Punch, Vanguard and ThisDay. That he made the pledge is verified; whether three million votes can be delivered is a separate question, assessed below.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Fubara's announcement at the rally, as reported by Punch and carried in the same terms by Vanguard and ThisDay. The coalition's slate is its announced intention; candidate nominations remain subject to the parties' and INEC's processes.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Tinubu's own words at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium rally, as reported by Punch; Vanguard's report of the same rally carries his thanks to Rivers voters and his praise for the Wike–Fubara reconciliation.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (2 more)
Why this label: The date is INEC's revised timetable, carried by Radio Nigeria and reaffirmed by Chairman Amupitan on 31 October; the Rivers register figure is from INEC's state-by-state release of October 2026.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The 2023 figures are INEC's declared results as compiled by OpenPolls Africa, and INEC's own post-election report put Rivers' 2023 register at 3,537,190. A three-million pledge implies a turnout many times the state's 2023 level; it is carried as the governor's pledge, not as a forecast.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- Fubara made the three-million pledge in his own words at the Port Harcourt rally, and announced the APC–PDP Rainbow Coalition under Wike.
- The election date, 16 January 2027, and Rivers' register of 3,736,434 are INEC's published figures.
What we don't know yet
- Whether the coalition's common slate survives the parties' nomination processes, including the governorship.
- Any response from opposition parties in Rivers to the coalition and the pledge — none had been read when this story was published.
- What turnout Rivers will actually record in January 2027 — the test of the pledge.
Why it matters
Rivers is the South-South's biggest register and was one of 2023's most disputed states; a joint APC–PDP machine behind the president, led by the state's two formerly warring power brokers, would reshape the 2027 map in the region. The three-million figure sets the benchmark the coalition will be judged against on 16 January 2027.
Background
Governor Fubara and his predecessor, FCT Minister Wike, feud over control of Rivers politics, splitting the state's PDP and assembly.
President Tinubu declares a state of emergency in Rivers, suspending Fubara, his deputy and the state House of Assembly.
At the Rainbow Coalition rally in Port Harcourt, Fubara pledges at least three million votes for Tinubu and announces the APC–PDP coalition under Wike.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
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Published in Checking state — checking continues, and claims are labelled as reporting develops. Basis: the speakers' own words at the Port Harcourt rally, reported by Punch, Vanguard and ThisDay, with INEC's timetable and register figures.