Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has formally exited the Peoples Democratic Party and joined the All Progressives Congress.
He made the declaration during a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
He arrived at the Villa later in the evening and was seen walking towards the President’s office shortly after Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru had entered for a different engagement.
Speaking during the meeting in Port Harcourt, Fubara said he and his team could no longer continue supporting the President from a distance.
He noted that genuine support for the President required openly identifying with him, which prompted the decision to move to the APC.
“We can’t support President (Tinubu) if we don’t fully identify with him, not just backyard support. Our decision this evening is that we are moving to the APC”, he said.
His move comes after an extended period of political turmoil in Rivers State.
His dispute with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, started in late 2023 and intensified when pro-Wike lawmakers attempted to remove him from office.
Tension grew further when a section of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex was set ablaze on 29 October 2023, only hours before the legislators were expected to take action against him.
By March 2025, the crisis had escalated to the point where President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the state.
Fubara, alongside his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected lawmakers, was suspended for six months, while former Chief of Naval Staff Ibok Ekwe Ibas was appointed as the sole administrator.
They were later reinstated in September 2025.
Political analysts suggest that the governor’s defection to the APC is tied to the weakening of his support base in the PDP following the prolonged conflict.
Fubara began his public service career in the state’s finance ministry, eventually becoming accountant-general in 2020, winning the PDP primary in 2022 with Wike’s backing, and securing victory in the 2023 governorship election by a wide margin.
