After months of speculation, the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governor announced his defection while addressing
stakeholders at a meeting held at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on
Tuesday evening.
Fubara’s move came barely 72 hours after 17 members of the
Rivers State House of Assembly, led by the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, who were
also elected on the platform of the PDP, resigned and joined the ruling party.
Addressing the gathering, Fubara said he had “good news” for
the people of the state, adding that he met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on
Monday to brief him on developments in the state.
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.
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