Get Guardian on GooglePresident Bola Tinubu took his re-election campaign on Saturday to Rivers State, home of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) vice-presidential candidate, Rotimi Amaechi, and the state answered with a promise of three million votes for the president.
Standing behind Tinubu as he received the assurance of support from Rivers and the South-South region was Dr. Osahon Okunbo, Managing Director of Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (PINL) and chairman of Wells Carlton Hotels and Apartments. The Edo-born businessman was at different points with Vice President Kashim Shettima, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. He later stood behind Tinubu alongside Seyi Tinubu, the president’s son, as the event was ongoing.
Tinubu later spent part of his speech assuring young people from the South-South that “your future depends on this election” and urged those without Permanent Voter Cards to collect them.
The South-South leaders and stakeholders gave the rally the character of a regional show of political support for Tinubu’s re-election. The mobilisation began at the airport, where President Tinubu was received by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, several governors from the zone, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda. Tinubu had arrived from Uyo, where he spent two days inaugurating projects executed by the Akwa Ibom State Government.
At the 40,000-capacity Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium, the region’s political representation extended across four states. Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike appeared together, while Akpabio represented Akwa Ibom, former Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa represented Delta, and Senator Adams Oshiomhole alongside Okunbo represented Edo. Their presence gave the APC a platform to project support for Tinubu across the South-South states.
Okunbo’s emerging recognition in the region has come from young people and host communities who have benefited from PINL’s programmes. The pipeline infrastructure and security firm has redefined asset protection along Nigeria’s critical energy corridors by replacing traditional enforcement with a community-first, tech-driven approach along the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) and the Eastern Gas Network (EGN) across Rivers, Bayelsa, Abia, and Imo states. It has hired over 35,000 youth from host communities to serve as the primary line of surveillance. The company also sustains peace by investing in the region’s human capital through a structured corporate social responsibility (CSR) portfolio, including the N2bn “From Creek to College” scholarship programme which provides higher education opportunities to over 1,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students from regional host communities. PINL is also addressing economic equity through targeted women’s empowerment grants, equipping thousands of women with vocational skills, business literacy, and startup capital of up to N1m.
In July 2025, the Ijaw National Congress of the Americas (INC-Americas) gave the PINL boss its Leadership Award at its convention in Houston, Texas, citing youth engagement, community service and pragmatic leadership in the Niger Delta. Fubara was among the guests, alongside former President Goodluck Jonathan and Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri. In a speech delivered on Okunbo’s behalf, he said young people in the region were “watching to see if the promises made to them will hold.” He added: “We owe them more than words.”
In December 2025, the Owaza community in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State conferred the title Oha-Mere-Dike I (The One Who Deserves Honour) on him, with an award describing him as “a leader chosen by his people” from over 215 host communities.
An electrical engineer by training, Okunbo also chairs Vetrinox Capital. He founded The Osahon Okunbo Foundation, which supports African arts and artists. On April 24, Vanguard named him Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 at its Personality of the Year Awards at Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, where former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba presented the award. He called it a “full circle moment” and recalled that Okunbo’s late father, Capt. Idahosa Wells Okunbo, had been honoured by the same newspaper as Industrialist of the Year. New Telegraph had earlier named him its Young Entrepreneur of the Year.
Meanwhile, Governor Siminalayi Fubara at the rally pledged that “we will deliver not less than three million votes” for president Tinubu. Also present were Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas, Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council Abdulaziz Yari, Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu and Magnus Abe, a former senator from Rivers.
The APC campaign will end with a closing rally in Lagos on January 9.
In 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria (INEC) declared that Tinubu polled 231,591 votes out of 553,944 votes cast in Rivers. Tinubu won the election with 36.61 per cent of the vote against a divided opposition.
Ahead of the 2027 polls, INEC has cleared 18 presidential candidates, with Tinubu, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the ADC and Obi of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) as the most prominent. Atiku’s choice of Amaechi, a former Rivers governor, has been widely read as a bid to strengthen the ADC in the South-South. Days before the rally, Atiku’s camp postponed its own Port Harcourt event and accused Wike of obstructing the venue. But Wike said the ADC lacked the numbers to fill a stadium.
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