Fubara dumps PDP, declares loyalty to APC … Commend President Tinubu for helping to preserve his position

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Tuesday formally severed ties with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and announced his entry into the All Progressives Congress (APC), signalling one of the most consequential political shifts in the state since the return of democracy in 1999.

The governor made the declaration during a well-attended stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt, where he openly credited President Bola Tinubu for what he described as his survival in office amid months of political turmoil.

Addressing party leaders, traditional rulers and supporters, Fubara stated that his decision was anchored on gratitude and political necessity.

According to him, his administration would not have endured the prolonged crisis in the state legislature without the intervention of the President.

He told the gathering that standing apart from the APC while depending on the President’s support was no longer tenable.

Fubara insisted that he and his political allies could only demonstrate sincerity by fully identifying with Tinubu’s party.

He declared that all political associates who had stayed with him through the turbulent months would be joining him in the move to the APC.

Fubara’s switch followed a dramatic wave of defections in the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Just four days earlier, Speaker Martin Amaewhule and 17 other lawmakers dumped the PDP for the APC, citing the internal crisis that has long plagued the opposition party.

Those who left included the deputy speaker and several influential members representing constituencies across the state.

Their exit intensified pressure on the governor, who had been the last major pillar of the PDP in the state.

Until Fubara’s announcement, the Rivers governor was the PDP’s last remaining state chief executive in the South-South region.

The zone, once a stronghold of the opposition party, has in recent months witnessed a steady migration of governors to the ruling party.

The governors of Delta, Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa all defected to the APC earlier in the year, leaving Rivers as the final bastion until Tuesday’s event effectively ended the PDP’s long-standing dominance in the oil-rich region.

Analysts trace the weakening of the PDP in Rivers to the fallout from the 2023 presidential primaries.

Former governor Nyesom Wike’s decision to oppose his party’s presidential candidate and support Tinubu created deep rifts that have since widened.

Though the APC-led Federal Government rewarded Wike with the Federal Capital Territory ministerial portfolio, his relationship with Fubara deteriorated sharply.

That rift produced months of political chaos: attempts by pro-Wike lawmakers to impeach the governor, the partial demolition of the Assembly complex, and the near-collapse of governance in the state.

President Tinubu was eventually forced to declare a state of emergency in March, temporarily suspending the governor, his deputy, and the lawmakers while appointing a federal administrator to stabilise the situation.

The emergency rule ended in mid-September, with all suspended officials reinstated.

Fubara’s departure added another layer to the PDP’s national crisis.

Since its defeat in the 2023 general election, the party has been beset by leadership disputes, factional wars, and a series of high-profile expulsions and counter-expulsions.

Tuesday’s development further reduces the PDP’s influence in one of its historically most reliable states.

Speaking at the meeting, Fubara said his resolve to cross over to the APC stemmed from what he described as the PDP’s inability to stand by him during his prolonged confrontation with lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

He credited President Bola Tinubu with helping preserve his position during the height of the political crisis, saying the President’s intervention ensured he was not removed from office.

According to the governor, remaining in the PDP while depending on the goodwill of an APC-led government amounted to political insincerity.

He told his audience that joining the ruling party was both a gesture of appreciation and a matter of political clarity.

Fubara explained that his supporters had long awaited a definitive signal on his next political step.

“The approval has come,” he said, noting that the protection he sought was absent in his former party.

He stressed that support for the President could not be offered from the sidelines and that fully identifying with Tinubu’s APC was the only logical path forward.

He further stated that every political ally who had remained loyal through months of tension would be making the transition with him, describing the move as a collective decision.

The governor’s announcement follows the dramatic exit of Speaker Martin Amaewhule and 17 other PDP lawmakers who defected to the APC on December 5.

The lawmakers cited persistent internal wrangling within the PDP as their reason for abandoning the party.

Their departure intensified speculation that Fubara would soon join the ruling party, especially as the House of Assembly crisis deepened divisions within the state’s political structure.

Political observers had predicted that the defections in the legislature would inevitably increase pressure on the governor to formally align with the APC.

With Tuesday’s announcement, Rivers State now edges closer to a complete realignment, continuing a trend of shifting loyalties among political leaders in the South-South region.