‘You'll reap betrayal,’ Wike tells governors, others backing Fubara

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has said governors and other politicians who are supporting Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State to “betray” him (Wike) would eventually be “consumed” by the same “betrayal they endorse.

Mr Wike spoke on Saturday in Port Harcourt during the commissioning of the Rivers State Renewed Hope Ambassadors Headquarters.

The facility houses a radio station, a situation room, office facilities, and the organisation’s vehicles.

The group is mobilising support for President Bola Tinubu, who is seeking reelection in the 2027 general election.

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‘A message from the gods’

At the event, Mr Wike, who is Mr Fubara’s predecessor, claimed the message was “from the gods of the land” to Nigerian politicians, particularly governors serving their second term in office, as well as lawmakers and ministers.

The FCT minister, who has been engaged in a running battle with Governor Fubara, said the spiritual law of karma would soon catch up with those backing the governor against him.

“Let me tell you one thing: today is the 7th of February. Whoever is watching, whether you are a senator, whether a House of Reps member, or a minister, whether you are a governor and you support betrayers, people will continue to betray you in life,” he said.

Mr Wike said such betrayal takes a psychological and physical toll on the victim and claimed that his enemies would be left speechless when the “betrayal they support” returned to them.

“Betrayal is your portion, and the day you will be betrayed, you will not have a mouth to say anything; there you will collapse. You will reap the seed that you planted,” he said.

Mr Wike claimed that while it took his own successor, Mr Fubara, several months to turn against him, those currently supporting “betrayers” would face faster rebellion from their chosen successors.

“Watch every governor who is doing his second tenure, who has ambition to put a successor and is supporting a betrayer – you will never survive it.

“The day your successor comes in, my own took some months; your own will start immediately. This is what the gods of the land have told me to tell you people,” he said.

The FCT minister stressed that political loyalty is a spiritual and moral obligation, asserting that “betrayal will follow” those who violate it.

‘We do not need a governor to mobilise for Tinubu in 2027’

At the event, Mr Wike declared that President Tinubu’s supporters in Rivers State do not require the backing of a sitting governor like Mr Fubara to mobilise for the president’s re-election bid in 2027.

The FCT minister stressed that political support in the state was being driven internally by elected officials and party leaders rather than external influence.

“We don’t need to have a governor to mobilise for Mr President.

“We don’t need it. We have all it takes to be on our own. We have senators, assembly people, council chairman, National Assembly members, party chairmen of APC and PDP,” he stated.

“We have mobilised ourselves to make a commitment.”

He thanked supporters for what he described as “visible dedication”, and argued that the 2023 election represented a turning point for the state’s political direction.

“In 2023, we came out without anybody pressuring us, without anybody influencing us. We took a decision. To the glory of God, that decision is what we are enjoying today,” Mr Wike said.

The minister added that continued support for Mr Tinubu in 2027 was non-negotiable if the president declared his intention to run.

Background

There is a renewed political crisis in Rivers triggered by a seemingly intractable feud between Governor Fubara and Mr Wike.

Mr Wike influenced Mr Fubara’s emergence as governor in 2023, but both politicians fell out months after because of the struggle for control of the political structures in the oil-rich state.

President Tinubu had brokered two peace deals between the parties, but they all collapsed shortly after.

The crisis later resulted in the declaration of emergency rule in the state in 2025.

Mr Fubara, who was suspended by Mr Tinubu for six months alongside all elected officials in the state in March 2025, only returned to office in September of that year after the president declared an end to the emergency rule.

In early January, Mr Wike-backed members of the Rivers State House of Assembly commenced the third attempt to impeach Governor Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu.

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The House accused them of “gross misconduct,” including an alleged failure to comply with constitutional requirements, such as presenting the annual budget.

The impeachment move came shortly after Mr Wike accused Governor Fubara of reneging on an agreement they had in the last peace deal.

However, a high court in the state halted the impeachment move by restraining the assembly and the state’s chief judge from going ahead with it.