Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has described his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as an “easy choice”, saying he was only a nominal member of the PDP and merely observed party affairs from the “balcony”.
Fubara made the remarks on Thursday while speaking with journalists at the national headquarters of the APC in Abuja, days after his formal defection to the ruling party.
The governor’s decision followed a prolonged political crisis in Rivers State, marked by a fierce power struggle between him and his predecessor, former governor Nyesom Wike, over control of the PDP structure and party affairs in the oil-rich state. The dispute led to months of political instability, legislative gridlock and deep divisions within the state’s political landscape.
In an attempt to restore calm, President Bola Tinubu intervened by suspending both Governor Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months. Fubara was later reinstated in September, paving the way for renewed political realignments in the state.
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On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, Fubara officially defected from the PDP to the APC, a move widely viewed as a significant political shift ahead of the 2027 general elections. His defection came shortly after several key members of the Rivers State House of Assembly also crossed over to the APC.
With the move, the governor formally severed his long-standing ties with the PDP and emerged as a leading figure of the APC in Rivers State, strengthening the ruling party’s influence in the state.
Explaining his decision, Fubara said he had always identified as a progressive and pledged to foster unity within the APC to promote development in Rivers State and Nigeria at large.
“When you say I am a new member of the progressive family, that is correct, but I have always been a progressive at heart. We now have a direction. Maybe before, we didn’t have a leader or a governor as the head of the party. Now that I am a member, I will ensure that I bring everybody together for more unity and progress of the party in the state,” he said.
The governor said his defection was motivated by gratitude to President Tinubu and a desire to work with other progressives.
“My joining the All Progressives Congress is to say thank you to Mr President and to join hands with other progressives to develop my state and Nigeria at large,” he added.
Reflecting on his time in the PDP, Fubara questioned his true membership of the party, saying he suffered greatly during the crisis.
“If I have to be honest, was I really a member of the PDP? I wasn’t. I was in my former party just nominally… I wasn’t inside the house; I was outside, on the balcony,” he said.
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