Details have emerged on the political strategy behind Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s decision to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The defection on Tuesday confirmed THE WHISTLER’s earlier exclusive report on the governor’s plan to join the ruling party.
A source in Fubara’s camp told THE WHISTLER that the defection followed advice from the governor’s political allies and strategists who convinced him to join the APC before his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, in order to take control of the party’s structure in Rivers State.
Fubara announced his defection at a stakeholders meeting held at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
The source confirmed that Governor Fubara received President Bola Tinubu’s blessing to join the APC on Monday.
Fubara said at the stakeholders meeting, “I know you have been waiting to hear from me. I have to arrange this meeting so urgently. I know it will end on a good note
“You are aware that I went to see Mr President yesterday, and the reason I went for that visit is not just personal, but a state interest consultation.
“I don’t want to make any mistakes this time around. I also don’t want to step on any landmine that anyone is laying for us. So I was with Mr President yesterday to brief him on the situation of things in our state, which I believe he has taken note of, and he is going to act swiftly on it.
“The most interesting part of the meeting is what you all have been waiting for, and you have been asking me, the signal has finally arrived.
“We have the full support and the positive nod to leave where we are because we didn’t get any protection, to go to where the reason we are still standing is because of that place.
“The truth is, without Mr. President, there won’t be any His Excellency Sir Siminalayi Fubara; it would have been the former governor.
“So, we have every reason. Let no one be fooled in this State, we have the people and the supporters as well as the numbers. Our only thank you to Mr. President is to support him. We can’t support Mr. President in isolation, and we can’t show that support if we don’t fully identify with him, not backyard support.
“So, we have taken that decision today, since we have got the pass. Everyone here who has followed and suffered with me, our decision today, we are all moving to APC.
“Now that our position has been made clear, every other formal process will commence. Let me thank you all for your support. I have not let you down before, and I won’t let you down now.
Meanwhile, THE WHISTLER also gathered that due to Wike’s ongoing fights within the PDP, he has not had access to President Tinubu in the last two months.
Fubara was saif to have relied on counsel from the stakeholders who felt that while Wike and his ally, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa, who is the factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), continued to cause trouble and distract the main opposition party ahead of 2027, the right move would be for Fubara to join the APC and take control of its structure in Rivers.
“Governor Fubara agreed with the calculation to join the APC first. They (his advisers) convinced him that this was the best way to secure his political future,” the source explained.
THE WHISTLER learnt that Governor Fubara initially did not want to make the move out of respect for Wike and to avoid reinitiating any rift.
“The governor was reluctant at first. He felt it would be disrespectful to join the APC before his former boss and political benefactor. He was also concerned about reigniting the crisis that had just been resolved. He didn’t want to be seen as betraying Wike or repeating the same pattern that caused their problems in the first place,” said the source.
The source added that “his supporters and loyalists across the state are expected to follow suit in the coming days.”
The defection now positions Fubara as the leader of the APC in the oil-rich state ahead of the 2027 elections.
Meanwhile, the development came months after Governor Fubara ended the protracted rift between him and his estranged political godfather and predecessor, Wike.
The rift, which started towards the end of 2023, saw an attempt to impeach Fubara by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Wike.
What began as an alleged misunderstanding over control of state resources and appointments worsened when arsonists torched part of the Rivers State House Assembly complex on October 29, 2023, hours before the pro-Wike lawmakers planned to impeach the governor.
At the peak of the crisis, President Bola Tinubu declared a State of Emergency in Rivers in March 2025, which saw Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the House of Assembly suspended for an initial six months.
Former Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok Ekwe Ibas, was appointed as the sole administrator of the state.
Fubara, his deputy, and the lawmakers were restored after the suspension was lifted in September 2025.
The governor’s political journey began in the finance department of the Rivers State civil service. He became the accountant general of the state in 2020.
In May 2022, Fubara won the PDP governorship primary by a large margin after securing the endorsement of then-governor Wike. He won the governorship election held in March 2023 by defeating the APC candidate, Tonye Cole, and others with over 300,000 votes.