Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has ditched the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), capping months of high-stakes drama in Nigeria’s oil-rich Niger Delta hub.
Fubara dropped the bombshell Tuesday at a packed stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt’s Government House, framing the move as a “commitment to stable governance and alignment with partners who back Rivers’ progress.
The defection, greenlit by President Bola Tinubu after a hush-hush Monday powwow in Abuja, comes hot on the heels of 17 pro-Wike lawmakers jumping ship to the APC just days ago—flipping the state assembly’s power balance and leaving Fubara’s loyalists sidelined.
The governor, once Wike’s handpicked successor who clinched the 2023 PDP ticket with his godfather’s blessing, has been locked in a brutal feud with the now-FCT Minister since late 2023.
What started as a tussle over state resources and appointments escalated into impeachment bids, assembly arsons, and a six-month emergency rule that ended in September—leaving Fubara’s PDP footing shaky and his 2027 reelection dreams in jeopardy.
“This is in the interest of Rivers people,” Fubara declared, signaling a thaw in his rift with Wike and a pivot toward federal muscle.
He’s now the latest big fish to swim to the APC this year, joining a wave of governors and lawmakers bolting from the PDP amid its deepening fractures—echoing the party’s NEC shakeup with a new caretaker committee just yesterday.
Social media erupted with reactions, from cheers of “strategic genius” to jeers of “opportunist flip-flop,” as X users dissected the power play.
For Fubara, the accountant-turned-governor who rode to victory with over 300,000 votes in 2023, this could be the lifeline to solidify control—or the spark for fresh chaos in the PDP’s crumbling fortress.
One thing’s clear: Rivers’ political waters just got a whole lot murkier.
