The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sounded the alarm over the defection of Siminalayi Fubara to the All Progressives Congress (APC), warning that the switch undermines Nigeria’s democratic equilibrium and hastens the country’s slide toward a “one‑party state.”
In a statement on Tuesday night, signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Enemobong, the party described Fubara’s exit as shameful but self‑inflicted.
“This news, as pitiful as it is, is an exemplar of the old legal maxim volenti non fit injuria, meaning to one who is willing, no harm can be done, ” the statement said.
The PDP noted that Fubara’s own decisions, not any wrongdoing by the party, paved the way for his defection.
“Everyone who has followed the developments that culminated in this uneventful defection will recall that the Governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination,” the party said.
The party also reminded Fubara of the support he enjoyed from within the party, civil society groups, and ordinary Nigerians, even in the heat of the crisis that preceded his defection.
“The Governor should have nothing less than praise for our party, civil society organisations, and all Nigerians who freely stood up in his defence, until he capitulated,” the statement added.
In a stern warning, the PDP urged Fubara not to become sympathetic toward those the party says coerced him into defecting.
“It is our prayer that the Governor should not suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, where a victim falls in love with his captor,” the statement read.
Despite expressing pity for him, the party said it remains concerned about the broader implications of the defection for Nigeria’s democracy.
The PDP argued that Fubara’s defection is symptomatic of a deeper malaise, one in which individuals override institutions and federal power is used to dominate the political opposition.
“The Rivers situation is a testament to the dysfunctional nature of our democracy, where individuals are bigger and stronger than institutions and can use the apparatus of the Federal Government to bring opponents to their knees,” the party declared.
The party cautioned that the ruling party appears to be methodically narrowing the political space and working toward electoral dominance, warning that such a trajectory spells danger for multiparty democracy.
“With the unrelenting disposition of the ruling party towards the attainment of a one‑party state … democracy is under severe attack in Nigeria,” the PDP said.
PDP urged citizens, democratic organs, and international partners to resist what it described as a slide toward authoritarianism, urging collective vigilance at this critical political juncture.
The party added, “Everyone must rise together to oppose this ignoble trip toward electoral authoritarianism.”
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