Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), marking the first time the oil-rich state will be governed by the APC.
Fubara announced his decision at a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, saying his move was driven by loyalty to President Bola Tinubu.
“The reason why we are still standing is because of Mr President. Without him, there wouldn’t be any His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara; it would have been the former governor,” Fubara declared. “Our only thank-you to Mr President is to support him, and we cannot support the President in isolation… we are moving to APC.”
Lawmakers’ Defection Preceded Governor’s Move
The governor’s defection comes just days after Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and 17 other lawmakers left the PDP for the APC, citing internal party crises. Among them were Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol and several prominent legislators across Port Harcourt, Okrika, Degema, Etche, and other constituencies.
Their departure intensified pressure on Fubara to align with the ruling party, especially amid his ongoing political feud with former governor and current Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike.
PDP’s Waning Influence in the South-South
The PDP had maintained dominance in Rivers State since 1999, but its influence has steadily eroded since Tinubu’s victory in the 2015 presidential election. Several South-South governors have already crossed over to the APC this year, including Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta and Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom. Bayelsa’s Douye Diri also left the PDP in November but has yet to declare a new affiliation.
Fubara’s defection leaves the PDP without a sitting governor in the South-South, a region once considered its stronghold.
Political Crisis and Tinubu’s Intervention
Rivers politics has been marked by turmoil, including attempted impeachment moves against Fubara, the partial demolition of the State Assembly complex, and clashes between lawmakers loyal to Wike and the governor.
In March, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers, suspending Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and the lawmakers, and appointing Vice Admiral Ibok Ete (retd.) as administrator. The governor and Assembly were reinstated in September after the emergency rule expired.
Meanwhile, the PDP continues to grapple with deep divisions at the national level, with rival factions expelling and counter-expelling key members following the 2023 presidential election defeat.
This defection not only reshapes Rivers State politics but also signals a broader realignment in Nigeria’s South-South, where the PDP’s decades-long dominance is rapidly collapsing.
