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The Politics Of Maturity: Why Rivers May Need Healing More Than Victory
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Politics in Rivers State has always behaved like the Bonny River during heavy rainfall – restless, unpredictable, and capable of swallowing even the strongest boats if caution is thrown overboard. But after three turbulent years of political hostilities, bruised alliances, and deep ethnic anxieties, many residents now appear exhausted by the sound of war drums.
That fatigue explains why the conversation following the withdrawal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara from the governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the emergence of Rep. Kingsley Chinda as candidate, has quickly shifted beyond ordinary politics into the emotionally charged territory of identity, equity, and ethnic balancing.
For some ethnic advocates, particularly within sections of the riverine bloc, the argument is simple: Governor Fubara should have completed two full terms before power rotates elsewhere. To them, the issue is not merely politics but fairness and historical inclusion.
Yet, while the sentiments are understandable, Rivers State now stands at a delicate crossroads where anger must not be allowed to mature into division.
The truth is that Rivers has bled too long from political bitterness.
Communities have watched friendships collapse under partisan pressure. Political camps have behaved like rival oil blocs drilling suspicion instead of trust. Every statement is analysed through tribal lenses; every handshake is treated like a conspiracy. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens – traders, fishermen, civil servants, transport workers, students, widows, and struggling families – continue to ask one quiet question:
Who will help Rivers breathe again?
That is why many observers believe the next political movement in Rivers cannot afford to be built on ethnic triumphalism or revenge politics. The state needs a bridge, not another battlefield.
And this is where the candidacy of Kingsley Chinda is beginning to attract unusual attention across political and ethnic lines.
In a state famous for loud political combatants, Chinda has built a reputation around restraint, legislative precision, and methodical engagement. He is not known for theatrical speeches or combustible rhetoric. Even within the National Assembly, colleagues often describe him as a lawmaker more interested in delivery than performance.
That quiet style may now become politically valuable in a state desperately searching for emotional de-escalation.
The challenge before Rivers is no longer merely about “whose turn” it is. The larger question is whether the state can recover enough stability to resume development.
Roads do not respond to tribal slogans. Investors do not inject capital into political minefields. Youth employment cannot grow in an atmosphere poisoned by endless hostility. Peace remains the first infrastructure every serious society must build before prosperity can stand.
This is why the emerging political language around Chinda appears carefully calibrated toward reconciliation rather than conquest.
“One Rivers, One Future.”
Simple words. But in a tense political climate, they carry strategic meaning.
The phrase subtly redirects public conversation away from ethnic camps toward shared destiny. It neither insults zoning advocates nor dismisses concerns about equity. Instead, it proposes a broader political argument: that competence, peace, inclusion, and stability must also matter in moments of crisis.
That distinction is important.
Because Rivers State is not a collection of isolated tribes occupying oil fields. It is a complicated political family tied together by commerce, history, intermarriage, waterways, and collective survival.
The riverine fisherman and the upland farmer ultimately depend on the same peace.
Chinda’s political movement is built around listening to every voice, pursuing sincere and genuine reconciliation, and engaging in wide-ranging consultations with traditional rulers, youth groups, clergy, women’s organisations, ex-militant stakeholders, market associations, and professionals across ethnic lines – all in the collective interest of Rivers State.
The message appears intentional and measured:
“I have come to listen, not impose.”
In today’s Rivers, that may prove to be wiser politics than chest-thumping bravado.
Observers also note that Chinda’s political appeal extends beyond his legislative record into years of grassroots interventions through his “I Win, U Win” initiative in Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency. Over the years, the programme has sponsored skills acquisition, healthcare support, ICT training, scholarships, women empowerment schemes, teacher training, welding, shoemaking, agro-allied programmes, and educational assistance for both indigenes and non-indigenes.
Supporters argue that such programmes reveal a politician who sees governance less as patronage and more as social investment.
Critics may disagree politically – and democracy permits that – but even opponents rarely accuse Chinda of ethnic extremism or inflammatory politics.
That moderation could become critical.
Because the greatest danger before Rivers today is not political competition itself. Democracy thrives on competition. The real danger is allowing political disagreements to harden into ethnic suspicion so deep that future generations inherit resentment instead of progress.
Rivers people have seen enough political fires to understand one painful truth: no tribe wins when the entire state burns.
The coming election, therefore, may offer something larger than a contest for power. It may become a referendum on whether Rivers chooses escalation or healing.
And perhaps that is why a growing number of citizens now insist that the debate must gradually move from:
“Whose turn is it?”
to:
“Who can unite and stabilise Rivers State?”
In the end, the state may discover that peace itself is the real zoning formula everyone has been searching for.
The self-acclaimed Director-General of the disputed Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, PFIPC, Adeyemi Adeniyi, says he borrowed the N400 million to secured the job at the presidency.
Adeniyi made this revelation on Monday during zoom interview on ‘Politics Today’, a programme on Channels Television.
He said his creditors have reported him to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
He described the way some actors in government taking the matter as ‘unfortunate and embarrassing’, asking how only him could manoeuvre the entire Federal Government system.
“I borrowed this money, the N400 million, to pay for this appointment. In fact, those that I borrowed the money from have reported me to the EFCC to refund it,” he said.
When asked to react to the report that there is a United States lobbying firm helping him to seek an asylum, Adeniyi said, “I read it the way you read it.”
News
May 18 primaries has come to a close, I appeal to all my people to support all APC candidates -Ize-Iyamu
Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu has beckoned on all his loyalists to support All Progressives Congress APC candidates after the party formally endorsed all Edo State candidates.
This was contained in a statement he personally signed encouraging his loyalists in Edo South to throw their weights behind all APC candidates.
Hear him:
“Following wide-ranging consultations with our leaders, party members, supporters, women, youths, and well-wishers across Edo South, Nigeria, and the diaspora, I address you today(Monday ) with profound gratitude, humility, and an unwavering commitment to the unity and progress of our great party.
“The APC Edo South Senatorial Primary held on May 18, 2026 has come to a close. Our party has completed its democratic process, and a candidate has emerged. I accept the decision of our party in good faith and appeal to all our members, followers and friends to do same.
“The All Progressives Congress is greater than any individual ambition. It is a platform built on service, sacrifice, discipline, and our shared commitment to a better future for our people. Political contests may test our preferences, but they must never diminish our common purpose.
To every supporter, coordinator, volunteer, grassroots mobiliser, and everyone who stood with us throughout this journey, I offer my heartfelt appreciation. Your loyalty, sacrifices, encouragement, and prayers have been a constant source of strength. I remain deeply grateful for your confidence and steadfast support.
I wish to specially thank our brothers and sisters in the diaspora across party lines for the overwhelming support they gave my senatorial bid and assure them of my continous commitment to the development and progress of our district. I urge every one of you to remain peaceful, reject division, and continue to uphold the values that have always defined our people.
Now is the time to reconcile, close ranks, and focus on the greater task before us. Our collective responsibility to serve the people of Edo South is far greater than any individual aspiration. As we move forward, I remain committed to working with our leaders, stakeholders, and party faithfuls to strengthen the APC, secure victory in the general election, and advance the development and well-being of Edo South Senatorial District.
The contest is behind us. The future is before us. Let us move forward with one resolve, and one commitment- to build a stronger APC and a more prosperous Edo South.
Thank you for your prayers, your loyalty, and your unwavering support throughout this journey.
History will not remember the contest we fought; it will remember the future we built together. Let us unite. Let us serve. Let us win for the APC, for Edo South and for the people of Edo State.
God bless the All Progressives Congress. God bless Edo South Senatorial District. God bless Edo State.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Oba gha to kpere, ise
The Senate Committee on Finance has opened a fresh scrutiny of the Federal Government’s import duty waiver regime after the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) disclosed that the value of Import Duty Exemption Certificates (IDECs) issued since March 2020 rose to about ₦34 trillion by 2025.
The committee also threatened sanctions against the heads of several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, for failing to appear before its investigative hearing on revenue remittances.
Appearing before the committee on Monday, Comptroller-General of Customs, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, said the agency’s revenue performance had been significantly influenced by government fiscal policies, particularly import duty exemptions granted to strategic sectors.
He explained that about 60 per cent of the ₦34 trillion worth of duty waivers covered military hardware imported to strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture, while the remaining exemptions applied to imports of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, medical equipment, industrial machinery, manufacturing inputs and food items under government intervention programmes.
Adeniyi maintained that duty waivers should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue forgone, arguing that they were intended to promote broader economic and social objectives, including industrial growth, improved healthcare delivery and national security.
He, however, recommended stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of the incentives deliver the expected outcomes through increased production, lower prices and wider economic benefits.
The Customs boss also told lawmakers that the Service had generated about ₦4.5 trillion as of June 30, 2026, against an annual revenue target of ₦11.04 trillion.
However, the hearing exposed disagreements over Customs’ financial obligations after the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) alleged that the agency had an outstanding operating surplus liability of about ₦8.9 billion based on its 2019 audited accounts.
Customs officials rejected the claim, insisting that the figures required reconciliation.
The committee also turned its attention to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) after the Fiscal Responsibility Commission alleged that the agency had failed to remit about ₦13.9 billion in operating surplus between 2023 and 2025.
Responding, the Registrar-General of the CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, acknowledged the outstanding liability but said the Commission had commenced gradual settlement of the amount.
To establish the actual figure, Chairman of the committee, Senator Sani Musa, directed the CAC, the Fiscal Responsibility Commission and the committee’s secretariat to reconcile their records and submit a comprehensive report within two weeks.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several invited agencies from the investigative hearing.
Senator Musa warned that the heads of the NCAA, SMEDAN, ITF, FMC Jabi and other defaulting agencies must appear at the next sitting or face sanctions under the Senate Standing Rules.
He stressed that agencies responsible for managing public resources have a constitutional obligation to account for revenues generated on behalf of the Federal Government and comply with legislative oversight.
PFIPC scandal: ‘I borrowed N400 million to secure the appointment’ – Adeyemi Adeniyi
May 18 primaries has come to a close, I appeal to all my people to support all APC candidates -Ize-Iyamu
Senate investigates N34tn Duty Waivers, Threatens Sanctions for Defaulting Agencies
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