Speculation is growing that Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, may dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) as political tensions intensify in the state.
Last Friday, 17 lawmakers loyal to former governor Nyesom Wike—led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule—announced their defection from the PDP to the APC, dramatically altering the power dynamics in the House of Assembly. Meanwhile, the three lawmakers aligned with Fubara have yet to return since emergency rule was lifted, adding to uncertainty about the governor’s next political move.
A PDP chieftain and former House of Representatives member, Ogbonna Nwuke, told the media that recent political shifts across the South-South suggest Fubara may eventually join the ruling party.
Nwuke, who represented Etche–Omuma and is a former Rivers Commissioner for Information, pointed to the defection of governors in Delta, Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa—traditionally PDP territories—as part of a regional trend.
He said, “If you look at what is going on in the South-South, governors elected on the PDP platform have decamped. Did we expect the Rivers lawmakers to move? Possibly not. But with the crisis in the PDP, was it avoidable? Possibly not. When a party is bedevilled by crisis, people naturally look for alternatives.”
He described the PDP issuing an “expulsion certificate” as a sign of deep internal fractures, adding that the party had not been this divided in years.
On whether Fubara will defect, he said, “There are speculations that the APC has been wooing the governor. Only he can confirm whether he is crossing. But what we’re seeing suggests he may consider leaving. And if he does, he won’t be the first.”
However, a senior Government House official dismissed the rumours, insisting Fubara had shown no indication of leaving the PDP.
“We are not aware the governor wants to defect,” he said. “Even the lawmakers claiming to have moved to the APC have not met the Supreme Court requirement of registering at their wards.”
He noted that with the APC’s national convention approaching, anyone intending to join the party “would have shown clear signs,” which Fubara has not.
Similarly, factional PDP chairman in Rivers, Robinson Ewor, mocked the defected lawmakers and insisted the party would reclaim its mandate.
“My prayer is that they shouldn’t deny again,” he said. “There is no division in the PDP that justifies their action. What they are holding is the PDP mandate.”
He vowed the party would engage the remaining lawmakers and recover its lost seats.
Asked if he would welcome Fubara into the APC, state APC chairman Tony Okocha said he had not been contacted by the governor.
“I’m not a soothsayer,” he said. “If I have the opportunity of talking to him, I will advise him to follow his mind.”
Meanwhile, tensions continue to rise as the Amaewhule-led Assembly holds sittings at the lawmakers’ residential quarters on Aba Road, despite Fubara’s insistence that the reconstructed Assembly complex will be ready this month and his plan to present the 2026 budget there.
During their latest sitting, Amaewhule queried the governor’s delay in sending a full list of commissioner-nominees to the House, saying Fubara was running the state with only eight commissioners—contrary to constitutional expectations.
