Why I Joined APC —Fubara

BY OGORAMAKA AMOS

RIVERS State Gover­nor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has ex­plained why he defected from the Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The governor made the stunning announce­ment during a stake­holders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt, effectively ending the PDP’s 25-year stranglehold on the oil-rich South-South state.

Citing his unwavering loyalty to President Bola Tinubu, Fubara declared that his move was an act of gratitude, stating that the President was singu­larly responsible for his political survival.

“The reason why we are still standing is be­cause of that place, and the truth is, without Mr President, there wouldn’t be any His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara; it would have been the for­mer governor,” Fubara told the gathering.

He continued: “Our only thank-you to Mr President is to support him, and we cannot sup­port the President in isolation… So, we have made that decision today. Everyone here who had followed me, who had suffered with me, our de­cision today, this evening, we are moving to APC.”

This defection marks the culmination of a pro­tracted and turbulent political crisis in Rivers State, rooted in a bitter feud between Governor Fubara and his predeces­sor, now Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nye­som Wike.

The conflict had seen the state legislature, dominated by Wike’s al­lies, attempt to impeach the governor, leading to a partial demolition of the Assembly complex and President Tinubu’s imposition of a brief state of emergency earlier this year.

Fubara’s move fol­lows the footsteps of the state’s legislative arm. Just recently, the Speak­er of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mar­tin Amaewhule, and 17 other lawmakers crossed over to the APC, citing the internal crisis within the PDP.

The governor’s defec­tion is the final piece in a dramatic regional realignment. Once a for­midable PDP stronghold, the entire South-South geopolitical zone has now completely flipped to the APC. Governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Ak­wa Ibom), and Douye Diri (Bayelsa) had earlier de­fected in April, June, and November, respectively, leaving Fubara as the region’s last PDP gover­nor—until now.

Political analysts view this development as the direct consequence of Wike’s pivotal decision to support Tinubu’s presi­dential bid in the 2023 election, a move widely condemned as anti-party activity within the PDP.

Tinubu’s subsequent appointment of Wike as a minister cemented the alliance, setting the stage for the eventual absorp­tion of Rivers State into the APC fold.

The defection plunges the opposition PDP deep­er into crisis. The party has been grappling with severe internal divisions, factional leadership, and a series of high-profile expulsions since its loss in the 2023 presidential election.

With Fubara’s crossover, the APC now commands an unprecedented dominance in the Niger Delta, control­ling all six state govern­ments in the region that produces the nation’s economic lifeline—oil. The political landscape of Nigeria has been ir­revocably altered.

 …Defection Painful —PDP

BY PATRICK MGBODO

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described as pain­ful the defection of the Riv­ers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In a statement posted on X (for­mer Twitter) by the party’s national publicity secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the PDP said Fubara’s defection reflected the dysfunctional nature of Nigeria’s democracy.

The statement reads, ‘’The Na­tional Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has received the news of the formal defection of Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the Governor of Rivers State, from our Party to the ruling party.

‘’This news, as pitiful as it is, is an exemplar of the old legal maxim Vo­lenti non fit injuria, meaning “to one who is willing, no harm can be done”.

‘’Everyone who has followed the developments that culminated in this uneventful defection will recall that the Governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this desti­nation. Having done so voluntarily, he cannot turn around and accuse our party, or any other person or group, of abandoning or not protect­ing him.

‘’Whilst a person who is at a crossroad of threats of existential proportion will most likely suffer from temporary amnesia caused by trauma, the Governor should have nothing less than praise for our party, civil society organisations, and all Nigerians who freely stood up in his defence since this crisis started until he capitulated.

‘’It is our prayer that the Governor should not suffer from Stockholm syndrome, where a victim falls in love with his captor. In all, despite these, we pity the Governor and wish him well.

‘’Furthermore, the Rivers situation is a testament to the dysfunctional nature of our democracy, where individuals are bigger and stronger than institutions and can use the apparatus of the Federal Govern­ment to obfuscate political life out of their opponents and bring them to their knees.

‘’Democracy is terribly threatened by acts of this kind, and all well-meaning people should unify in condemning this progressive decline of democratic norms.

‘’Finally, we reiterate to Nigerians and the global community that with the unrelenting disposition of the ruling party towards the attainment of a one-party state, and the constric­tion of the political space, democracy is under severe attack in Nigeria. Ev­eryone must rise together to oppose this ignoble trip toward electoral authoritarianism.’’