After weeks of intense behind-the-scenes manoeuvring and widespread speculation, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the national ruling party.
The governor made the long-anticipated declaration on Tuesday evening while addressing a large gathering of political stakeholders, traditional rulers, youth groups, and party faithful at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
Fubara’s decision arrived less than three days after 17 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, headed by Speaker Martins Amaewhule—all originally elected on the PDP platform—tendered their resignation from the opposition party and were received into the APC.
Speaking with visible excitement, Governor Fubara described the development as “good news” for the people of Rivers State. He disclosed that he had held a crucial meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Abuja on Monday, during which he briefed the President on the political situation in the state.
The governor showered praise on President Tinubu for what he called the federal government’s unwavering support to Rivers State and for playing a pivotal role in resolving the protracted political crisis that had threatened to tear the state apart.
“It is better for us to move from where we are to where it is better for Rivers State,” Fubara told the cheering crowd, insisting that the state’s huge population and political weight made the switch a natural and strategic decision.
Observers noted that the governor’s move had been on the cards for months, particularly after reports emerged that one of the conditions attached to the peace agreement brokered by President Tinubu between Fubara and his estranged political godfather, Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, was an eventual migration to the APC.
Many political analysts also pointed out that Fubara had remained conspicuously silent when PDP governors dragged the federal government to court over the controversial declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State (which lasted from March 18 to September 18, 2025) and the subsequent suspension of the governor, his deputy, and the entire 32-member House of Assembly.
With Fubara’s defection now sealed, the APC has achieved total control of the entire South-South geopolitical zone, governing Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, and Rivers states. This sweeping regional dominance has sparked fresh anxiety among civil society groups and opposition voices who warn that Nigeria may be sliding dangerously close to a de facto one-party state.
