⬆️President Bola Tinubu.
A vast crowd packed the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium in Port Harcourt on Saturday, spilling beyond its 40,000 capacity into the surrounding grounds. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stood before them and made no attempt to hide what the moment meant.
He thanked Rivers State voters for their decisive role in the 2023 election that brought him to power and asked them to do it again. The January 16 poll, he said, would determine whether the gains of his administration would be consolidated or lost.
The rally was organised by the Rainbow Coalition under the leadership of Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike. Its most striking feature was the public reconciliation it showcased. Tinubu praised Governor Siminalayi Fubara for the maturity and respect he showed when political elders stepped in to end the bitter feud with his predecessor.
“During the political crisis caused by a misunderstanding in the family, I intervened on your behalf,” the President told the crowd. “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.”
Tinubu then turned to the economy. He insisted his reforms were clearing the path to prosperity and that his government was still paying the heavy price of inherited liabilities. Unpaid pensions and gratuities running into billions and trillions of naira, he said, were being settled so that more families could share in the recovery. Outstanding salaries and pensions in 27 of the 36 states had already been cleared.
He reserved sharp words for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar. “When those people talk about hunger, remember that I am cleaning up the mess they created. Atiku was one of them. Ask him how he built a private university while in office as Vice President in charge of our economy. Who funded the university for him? It was your money, your effort!” Tinubu declared that a man without moral integrity had no business seeking public office again.
Vice President Kashim Shettima reinforced the message, urging the South-South to stand with Tinubu. He pointed to rising foreign reserves—from about $3.9 billion to $60 billion in three years—as evidence of progress, while dismissing Atiku as “intellectually malnourished” and Peter Obi as a figure of “political irrelevance” and “mediocrity.”
Governor Fubara responded with a clear pledge. Under Wike’s leadership, he said, Rivers State would deliver no fewer than three million votes for Tinubu in 2027. “Thank you, Mr President, for standing by us at a most difficult time. A good gesture deserves reciprocity. As you have stood by us, we will stand by you.”
Wike, in his welcome address, insisted the massive turnout was purely local. “Your Excellency, this is Rivers State’s rally. We did not mobilise anybody from any other state.” He listed the federal appointments and projects Rivers had received under Tinubu—including the Bonny–Bodo Road and the Federal University of Environment in Ogoniland—and asked a pointed question: “So, who is our brother?” His answer was firm: Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The stadium was filled with political heavyweights: First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda, and a long list of governors, senators and ministers. Tinubu had flown in from Akwa Ibom, where he had earlier commissioned projects and addressed another rally.