The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has distanced itself from mounting speculation that Governor Siminalayi Fubara is preparing to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to them, the governor has every right to take any political decision he deems fit, provided it serves the overall interest of Rivers people.
The state chairman of the PDP, Dr Robinson Ewor, who spoke on Wednesday, said the governor has not communicated any such intention to him or the party.
“Whatever decision the governor takes is personal,” he stressed, adding that he was not aware of any plan by Fubara to abandon the PDP.
Speculation over Fubara’s political future intensified this week after he was sighted in Abuja on Monday alongside the chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum and Imo State governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, during a visit to President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.
The optics of the meeting, coupled with Fubara’s omission of the PDP’s role in resisting the emergency rule imposed on Rivers in March, fuelled suspicion of a looming realignment.
Recall that on March 18, the federal government had declared a six-month emergency rule in Rivers State following a protracted political crisis. The rule, which ended on September 18, was widely condemned as unconstitutional.
During the period, reports surfaced that one of the conditions of a peace deal allegedly signed by Fubara in June was that he should defect to the APC, a move many analysts interpreted as part of a wider strategy to deliver Rivers for Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid.
In his statewide broadcast on September 18, marking his return to office after the expiration of the emergency rule, Fubara praised Nigerians and democratic institutions for standing with the state but did not acknowledge the pivotal role of the PDP.
This silence drew attention, given that no fewer than 11 PDP governors had dragged the APC-led federal government to court to challenge the imposition of emergency rule. Prominent Nigerians also spoke against the action, describing it as a grave constitutional breach.
Addressing the controversy over the State House of Assembly’s threat to probe the financial profile of the state under Vice Admiral Ibok-Etteh Ibas (retd), who served as sole administrator during the six-month emergency rule, Ewor said the legislature had the authority to act.
He maintained that Ibas could not account to the people since he was not elected by them, but must give explanations to the Assembly.
“The appointment of Ibas was unconstitutional and an act of illegality. It was unnecessary. I am not part of the probe. But it is the right of the House to probe him. If they want to probe him, it is their right to do so, and I cannot tell them what to do,” Ewor said.
On the fragile truce between Governor Fubara and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, the PDP chairman called for transparency, urging both sides to make public the terms of their peace agreement. He insisted that full disclosure was necessary to assure Rivers people of the sincerity of the arrangement and to guarantee lasting peace in the state.
According to him, “It will be in the best interest of the state for all actors in the conflict to ensure that the present peace effort endures for the overall benefit and development of Rivers.”
