Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He announced the defection on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
Governor Fubara said he moved to the ruling party as a “gesture of reciprocity” for support received from President Bola Tinubu since the political crisis in the state in late 2023.
“We can’t support Mr President if we don’t fully identify with him; not backyard support,” Fubara said.
“We have taken that decision today since we have gotten a pass. Everyone here, who followed and suffered with me, our decision today is that we are moving to APC.”
The governor’s defection follows the move by 15 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including Speaker Martin Amaewhule, who joined the APC on December 5.
The 32-member assembly had earlier passed a vote of confidence in President Tinubu and urged him to seek re-election.
Fubara had been the only governor from the PDP in the South-South region after the recent defections of Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno to the APC.
Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri left the PDP in November but has not joined another party.
Political shifts in Rivers began when former Governor Nyesom Wike declared support for APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu in 2023, while the PDP remained the dominant party in the state since 1999.
Fubara’s administration had clashed with lawmakers loyal to Wike, leading to suspension and the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok Ete (retd.) as administrator during a state of emergency in March.
Fubara and his deputy Ngozi Odu, along with the lawmakers, were reinstated in September.
Siminalayi Fubara’s defection marks the first time Rivers State will have an APC governor since 1999.
The move also reflects ongoing divisions within the PDP at both state and national levels following the 2023 presidential election.
