APC woos Fubara as emergency rule expires tomorrow

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has invited Siminalayi Fubara, to defect from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to its fold on his return to power as Rivers State governor tomorrow. In the last few days, there have been high expectations that Fubara would regain control of the state at the expiration of the emergency […]

The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has invited Siminalayi Fubara, to defect from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to its fold on his return to power as Rivers State governor tomorrow.

In the last few days, there have been high expectations that Fubara would regain control of the state at the expiration of the emergency rule imposed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on March 18, 2025.

Recall that President Tinubu had declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the state House of Assembly for six months.

The president made the declaration in a nationwide broadcast, in which he announced Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (rtd), as sole administrator of the state. Tinubu said the decision was taken to restore stability in the state which had been witnessing intense political crisis.

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Daily Trust reports that Rivers was neck-deep in a political crisis following the feud between Fubara and his predecessor, who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the control of politics and governance in the state.

 

‘Join us’

Following the expected return of Fubara to power on Thursday, the APC at the state and national levels yesterday asked the suspended governor to dump the PDP and pitch tent with it.

The APC National Director of Publicity, Bala Ibrahim, in a telephone chat with Daily Trust said Fubara’s defection to the APC would add value to the ruling party going forward.

He disclosed that the intention of the APC was not just to win Rivers State in 2027, but to gain control of all the 36 states of the country.

“Fubara is a distinguished Nigerian who contested and won election in the Rivers State. The APC is always inviting people who are democrats, people who are ready to work with the constitution of the party.

“We invite Fubara to join us, not just Fubara, people who share the ideology and aspiration of the party, and people who want to use the party to realise their political aspirations. We want to take over the entire Nigeria, not just Rivers.

“It is within the ambition of the APC to take over all the states in Nigeria. So, APC is ambitious of winning all the 36 states of the federation,” he said.

Similarly, the APC spokesman in Rivers, Darlington Nwauju, called on Fubara to defect to the APC while featuring on Channels Television on Tuesday.

“If I were the governor of Rivers State, on my return on Thursday, I would announce my defection to the APC. I think the governor should join the APC, and we would gladly receive the governor into our party,” he said.

When asked if Fubara would lead the APC in Rivers if he defected, Nwauju said, “By the convention of our party, if he joins the APC, he becomes the leader of the party in the state.”

 

Don’t succumb to forces of darkness, PDP tells Fubara

But reacting, the PDP deputy national publicity secretary, Mallam Ibrahim Abdullahi, in a telephone interview with Daily Trust, asked Fubara not to “submit to forces of darkness.”

He argued that joining APC will be akin to nailing his (Fubara’s) political coffin, stressing that the “APC’s mission remains the subversion of democratic ethos and values.”

Similarly, a member of the PDP National Executive Committee (NEC), Timothy Osadolor, advised Fubara not to join APC, arguing that the ruling party “wants to reap where they did not sow.” He said, “Any attempt to join the APC will lead to his end politically.”

Osadolor also stressed the need for constitutional amendment to ensure that a president doesn’t have the power to suspend any governor unless with the express approval of the National Assembly.