Kingsley Chinda, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Rivers State, has said the relative calm now prevailing in the state is an indication that the 2027 general elections will be peaceful.
Chinda spoke on Tuesday at the Rivers Dialogue, a one-day event organised by Megalectrics Limited in Port Harcourt.
The dialogue, themed “Peaceful Elections: Sustainable Path for Economic Development,” brought together political stakeholders and other participants to discuss peaceful elections and sustainable economic development in Rivers State.
His remarks came as the Nyesom Wike-led Rainbow Coalition deepened reconciliation efforts across party lines, engaging members of the SIMplified Movement loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other stakeholders.
Chinda said he is committed to the peaceful conduct of the 2027 general elections.
The APC governorship candidate said the primary responsibility of government is to protect lives and property, adding: “So if we look at section 14, subsection 4, of the Constitution, which is the grundnorm, it says the main purpose of government is the security of lives and property of citizens.
“So the primary purpose of government is not to build roads or to build hospitals. But you must be alive for the roads or hospitals to come. If the Constitution says that that is the primary purpose of government, any government that fails to achieve peace and the protection of citizens, both life and property, is a failed government,” he said.
Chinda expressed confidence that ongoing reconciliation efforts among political stakeholders in the state would help sustain the peace during and after the elections.
“We are offering service to you because we want to ensure that we protect the lives and property of the citizens.
“So please be assured, when I say that we are committed to doing this, I am dead serious about it. And let me tell you that I am certain that we will achieve it.
“If you also look at the trajectory of Rivers State, before now, you would have had a lot of violence going on. But you can see that it has changed. It is still peaceful and calm. And by the special grace of God, it will remain this way until the elections come,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state chapter of the APC has deepened engagement with party members and supporters at the grassroots, with Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), meeting the youth wing of the Rainbow Coalition.
The FCT minister, who met the youths alongside Chinda and other top members of the Rainbow Coalition, said giving total support to President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid is the strategic key to unlocking unprecedented political appointments, infrastructure development and lasting national relevance for Rivers State.
Wike, while speaking on Monday during an interactive meeting with the governor’s supporters and aligned youth leaders in Port Harcourt, stressed that aligning with the Federal Government will secure the state’s position as a powerhouse in national politics.
He urged party faithful, youth groups and local stakeholders to put past grievances behind them and rally solidly behind Tinubu, adding that politics is about calculating where the state stands to gain the most leverage.
“All I want to hear in this state is Tinubu and nothing but Tinubu. If we play the role we are playing now, and we are one of the first three states that get the highest number of votes, we will get more of the appointments,” he said.
Wike noted that the current administration has broken records in terms of high-profile federal appointments awarded to indigenes of the state.
He added that a massive voter turnout for the President would guarantee even greater stakes and bumper opportunities for the state’s populace, particularly the youth.
Wike explained that his primary motivation is ensuring Rivers State remains a central fixture in national decision-making, where no president can afford to sideline the state’s leadership.
The minister further noted that local political structures across different platforms are collapsing into a unified front to back the President.
He acknowledged that political transitions and alliances naturally come with friction, rumours and minor disagreements, while calling for calm and reconciliation at the grassroots level.
Wike assured those who may have felt sidelined that structured reconciliation committees are working to ensure no genuine member of the family is left behind.
He said, “We are talking for survival and growth,” 5 charged local government youth leaders to return to their bases, mend fences and prepare for the upcoming campaign committees and the President’s scheduled visit to the state.
“I am not going to be governor again; this is for your own interest. I want this state to grow. I want this state to play an important role in the politics of Nigeria,” he concluded.
Ezebunwo Ichemati, former mayor of Port Harcourt, who spoke on behalf of Fubara’s supporters, declared the readiness of the group to work closely with Wike to deliver Rivers to Tinubu and other candidates under the Rainbow Coalition.
Ichemati said the meeting marks a major turning point in the Rivers political landscape, signalling a consolidated front between the Wike and Fubara camps as strategic preparations intensify for the 2027 general elections.
He said the group is committed to joining forces with the political coalition to deliver Tinubu, including Chinda, who is vying for governor of the state in the upcoming elections.
He described the recent political crisis in Rivers State as a temporary domestic dispute that has now given way to family unity.
“Every family has its own peculiarity in problems. What matters most is that the family comes together, the children watch what has divided them and decide to move forward.
“If today a marriage faces a problem, some children will go to their father, some will go to their mother. But when a truce is made, the family comes back together—and that is what has happened today,” he said.
Ichemati acknowledged the FCT minister as the undisputed leader of Rivers politics while crediting both Wike and Fubara for initiating the peace deal that brought the warring factions together.
He emphasised that Fubara was fully aware of and supported the meeting with the FCT minister.
Ichemati said reconciliation went far beyond rhetoric, pledging that the vast network of grassroots youths who served as political foot soldiers during the crisis would now act as a formidable force for the coalition.
“The state has been held back for a very long time. Now that you are bringing this peace initiative down to the youths, who are the foot soldiers, I want to assure you that we commit ourselves to joining our brothers in the Rainbow Coalition.
“What you see here today will transform into a force that will deliver. We don’t want to say much. All we can say is: test us, try us, and we will deliver,” he said.
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