Some state governors running for reelection ahead of the 2027 general elections are currently encountering difficulties as a result of their disagreements with their political goddads.
Before 2027, the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led federal government provided refuge to a number of governors, particularly those from opposing parties, but their godfathers were left behind.
Following their choices to join the APC, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his Kano State colleague Abba Yusuf had a falling out with their political godfathers.
The godfathers have pledged to continue being a roadblock, which is threatening their reelection campaign.
Governor Abba Yusuf is reportedly at odds with his estranged godfather, Rabiu Kwankwaso, the leader of the New Nigerian Peoples Party, or NNPP, while Governor Fubara is engaged in a feud with Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike.
Kwankwaso against Yusuf
Rabiu Kwankwaso, the NNPP’s 2023 presidential candidate, and Governor Abba Yusuf recently clashed over the governor’s decision to join the ruling party.
According to reports, the governor’s plans to switch from the NNPP to the APC have been verified by his aides and members of the State House of Assembly, despite the fact that he has not yet made a public announcement about it.
The NNPP leader himself led the Kwankwassiyya Movement, which provided Governor Yusuf with overwhelming support in the 2023 gubernatorial election.
Yusuf’s choice to leave the NNPP has prompted the withdrawal of the support.
Over the weekend, it was learned that a number of the NNPP leader’s loyalists who are currently working under Governor Yusuf are expected to step down.
Insiders claim that Mustapha Kwankwaso, the Kano State commissioner for youth and sport, will resign from his position prior to the governor’s impending defection.
The governor’s cabinet will be dismissed as soon as Kwankwaso joins the ruling party, according to additional information.
In advance of the 2027 election, it was rumored that the NNPP has started looking for Yusuf’s successor.
Wike and Fubara
Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers, and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, have had at least three disagreements since the 2023 general election.
The governor’s decision to go with the ruling party and his purported decision to back out of a claimed deal made between them by President Bola Tinubu during the State of Emergency in Rivers are what sparked the most recent conflict between the two.
Reports suggest that during the peace pact, the governor signed a pledge not to seek reelection, even though the arrangement was not made public.
With the support of senior APC leaders, there have been indications that the governor is prepared to be re-elected since he defected to the ruling party.
In an effort to regain control of the state’s political system before 2027, Wike spent 17 days in Rivers State touring the state’s 23 Local Government Areas.
The former governor pledged that Governor Fubara would not be re-elected, citing the possibility that the governor’s return in 2027 would terminate his (Wike) political career.
Impeachment scheme
The governor and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, have been impeached by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who are loyal to the FCT Minister. They are not waiting till 2027 to remove the governor.
The governor and his deputy received an impeachment notice from the legislature on Thursday, accusing them of egregious wrongdoing.
They pointed to Fubara’s purported failure to submit the 2026 budget to the legislature and accused the governor of using Rivers State funds illegally.
However, Sydney Gbara, the immediate former publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, told that the National Assembly cleared the 2025 budget when the emergency was in effect and called the impeachment process a useless diversion.
“It’s an unnecessary distraction in the state because you will start to question the motive behind an action that keeps happening without a good reason,” he stated.
“The 2025 budget, which we all know was approved by the National Assembly in June of last year during the emergency rule and approved by Mr. President, is one of the main issues the assembly members are accusing the governor of.
The National Assembly’s budget will be in effect until July of this year because each budget has a one-year lifespan.
He contends that Governor Fubara cannot promote a budget that the president has already approved and ratified.