With primary elections coming to an end across different political parties, Governor Siminilayi Fubara of Rivers State stands out as the worst hit in the political chess game. 

Apart from losing out himself in his bid to secure a second term in office, all his associates suffered the same fate. 

In his own case, he resigned before the primary election when it dawned on him that there was no chance for him, while all his supporters vying for one position or the other were disqualified by the All Progressives Congress. 

Loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike took everything. 

Across the country, all the APC governors seeking re-election got the party’s ticket. 

The second term seeking governors who secured the APC’s governorship tickets include, Uba Sani of Kaduna State, Peter Mbah of Enugu State, Dikko Radda of Katsina State, Nasir Idris of Kebbi State, Umar Namadi of Jigawa State, Abba Yusuf of Kano State, and Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State.

Others include, Umar Bago of Niger State, Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, Agbu Kefas of Taraba State, Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State, among others.

DAILY POST recalls that Fubara had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the APC, hoping to get political respite, but that political move could not save him. 

Agreement barred Fubara from seeking second term – Wike

Wike and Fubara had endured a turbulent relationship shortly after the governor assumed office in 2023. Their relationship went sour over the maintainance of the political structure in the State.

Speaking on Fubara’s withdrawal from the governorship race, Wike explained that there was an agreement that the governor won’t purchase the APC nomination form.

Wike had said: “I’m not surprised that the governor withdrew. In the first place, he ought not to have collected the form because the agreement was reached that impeachment should be dropped while he should also not talk about second tenure.”

Governors rewarded with automatic tickets, Fubara scapegoat – Activist

Idam said most governors on the platform of the APC were rewarded with automatic tickets while Fubara was made a scapegoat.

Speaking with DAILY POST, he said: “What makes the situation even more humiliating is that several governors within the All Progressives Congress were rewarded with automatic tickets, while Fubara was only scapegoated and denied the same privilege despite publicly chanting “On your mandate” in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“To me, however, the automatic tickets granted to many APC governors represent rewards for hard times. Nigerians should be mourning the state of the economy rather than celebrating politicians securing second-term tickets, especially when the country’s economic condition has deteriorated severely under the ruling party.

“It is sincerely painful and disheartening that Nigeria has found itself in such an inglorious condition.”

Idam added that Fubara risks fading quietly into political obscurity, adding that he had no meaningful project to point to while in office.

The activist said the governor should be concerned about his fate after leaving office because he might be made to face anti-graft agencies.

He said: “Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s political career can arguably be said to have passed into the dark pages of history, where glory does not live, following his withdrawal from the 2027 governorship race. His political relevance might have endured if he had recorded sterling achievements during his time in office.

“Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case. It is difficult to point to any truly life-changing project or people-oriented programme undertaken by him for which he would be remembered after leaving office.

“He now risks fading quietly into political obscurity, precisely where his oppressors may have always wanted him to be.

“At this point, his greatest concern may no longer be political ambition, but his fate after leaving office: whether those opposed to him will allow him to fade quietly from the scene or unleash the machinery of anti-graft agencies against him, further damaging his image before the Rivers people.

“As a concerned Nigerian, I worry deeply about how the nation’s laws and political structures appear skewed in ways that permit such blatant political oppression, while citizens remain helpless observers, able only to analyse events without the power to resist intimidation and suppression carried out in broad daylight.”

Fubara can bounce back politically – Ex-ACF Scribe, Anthony Sani

Former Secretary General of the Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Anthony Sani, has said it’s possible for Fubara to bounce back politically.

“Since over the long history of nations and long life of individuals, the powerful and the powerless, the rich and the poor often change places, it is quite possible for Fubara to bounce back politically.

“Because APC is the ruling party and people know what power can do to regular blokes,the governors are savvy enough to want to use APC’s power of incumbency and secure reelections,” Sani told DAILY POST.