Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, has joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) following months of rumors.
Speaking to stakeholders during a meeting on Tuesday night at Government House in Port Harcourt, the governor declared his defection.
Fubara’s action occurred just 72 hours after 17 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including Speaker Martins Amaewhule, who had also been elected on the PDP platform, resigned and joined the ruling party.
Speaking to the crowd, Fubara claimed he had “good news” for the state’s citizens. He also mentioned that he met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday to give him an update on state developments.
After praising President Tinubu for his support to Rivers State and for what he described as helping the state overcome its recent political crisis, Fubara told his supporters that it was “better for us to move from where we are to where it is better for Rivers State.”
Beaming with his signature smile, the governor expressed confidence that Rivers State has the population and political strength to take a decisive step into the APC.
It will be recalled that one of the issues Fubara was reportedly asked to agree to during the peace process brokered by President Tinubu between him and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barr. Nyesom Wike, was a possible defection to the APC.
The defection did not come as a surprise to many political observers, especially as the governor did not publicly acknowledge the efforts of PDP governors who went to court over the federal government’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State between March 18 and September 18, and the subsequent suspension of the governor, his deputy and the 32-member House of Assembly.
Fubara’s defection now means that all six states in the South-South geopolitical zone are controlled by the APC, heightening public concern among some observers that Nigeria could be drifting towards a one-party system.
