The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has carpeted the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, following his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying he willingly chose the path that led to his exit and should stop blaming the party for his current predicament.
Governor Fubara announced his defection at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, December 9, 2025. He claimed that his decision to leave the PDP was influenced by what he described as the party’s failure to protect him amid the prolonged political crisis in the state.
However, the PDP, in a swift reaction, dismissed the governor’s explanation. In a statement issued on Tuesday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the party said Fubara voluntarily took the steps that culminated in his defection and cannot now turn around to fault the party.
“The Governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination. Whilst a person at a crossroad of threats of existential proportion may suffer from temporary amnesia caused by trauma, the Governor should have nothing less than praise for our party, civil society organisations, and all Nigerians who freely stood up in his defence since this crisis started, until he capitulated,” the statement read.
The political crisis in Rivers State erupted publicly in late 2023 between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. The face-off led to the factionalisation of the State House of Assembly, failed impeachment attempts, and the demolition of the Assembly complex.
Several reconciliation moves were initiated by the national leadership of the PDP under its Acting National Chairman, Kabiru Turaki. The crisis appeared to ease after a peace pact brokered by President Bola Tinubu in December 2023. However, the governor’s defection has now been widely interpreted as the final collapse of that agreement.
Reacting further, the PDP described Fubara’s move to the APC as a reflection of a deeper democratic problem in Nigeria. It alleged that the development exposed “the dysfunctional nature of our democracy, where individuals are bigger and stronger than institutions and can deploy the apparatus of the Federal Government to suppress political opponents and bring them to their knees.”
The party also accused the ruling APC of having “an unrelenting disposition towards the attainment of a one-party state,” and called on Nigerians to resist what it described as “electoral authoritarianism.”
Governor Fubara’s defection hands the APC control of another strategic state in the South-South region, further strengthening the ruling party’s influence. However, the development has also reignited concerns over political morality, party loyalty and the stability of Nigeria’s political institutions.
The PDP concluded its rebuke with a grim warning, stating: “It is our prayer that the Governor does not suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, where a victim falls in love with their captor.”
The defection significantly weakens the PDP’s grip on Rivers State ahead of future political contests, while further consolidating the APC’s dominance in the region.