FUBARA DEFECTS TO APC AFTER MEETING WITH TINUBU, CITING NEED FOR FULL SUPPORT OF PRESIDENT

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), marking a major political shift in the oil-rich state.

Fubara announced his defection on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt, where he declared his decision to align fully with President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

“We can’t support the President if we don’t fully identify with him, not just backyard support. So we have taken that decision here today that everyone who has followed and suffered with me, the decision this evening is that we are moving to the APC,” the governor said.

His defection comes a day after he paid a visit to President Tinubu at the State House, Abuja, on Monday. Fubara reportedly arrived at the Presidential Villa around 5:01 p.m. and left about 5:45 p.m., though details of the meeting were not made public.

With the move, Fubara joins other governors who recently defected from the PDP, including Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno, Enugu Governor Peter Mbah, and Bayelsa Governor Duoye Diri.

The defection follows months after President Tinubu, on March 18, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State amid intense political tension between the governor and members of the State House of Assembly. At the time, Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected lawmakers for six months and appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas as the state’s administrator.

After the expiration of the emergency rule, Fubara resumed office and pledged to restore peace and reconciliation in the state. In a statewide broadcast, he described the emergency period as “enormously challenging but necessary” to safeguard democracy and restore order.

Fubara said he deliberately chose not to challenge the constitutionality of the emergency declaration in the interest of peace.

“I resisted pressure to challenge the constitutionality of the emergency declaration, suspension of democratic structures, and other measures taken during the turbulent period,” he said.

He further revealed that following Tinubu’s peace efforts, reconciliation was reached between himself, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the Rivers State House of Assembly.

According to the governor, the reconciliation was embraced in the overall interest of Rivers people and for the continued progress of the state.