Following new political unrest in the state, there is growing speculation that Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, may soon leave the Peoples Democratic Party to join the All Progressives Congress.
The balance of power in the legislature was immediately altered last Friday when 17 members of the House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule and loyal to former governor Nyesom Wike, declared their defection from the PDP to the APC.
Since the state’s six-month emergency rule was ended, the three lawmakers who are thought to be loyal to Fubara have not convened again, raising doubts about the governor’s political future.
Ogbonna Nwuke, a PDP leader and former member of the House of Representatives, told newsmen that Fubara would eventually join the central ruling party due to recent political developments in the South-South.
The defection of governors in Delta, Akwa Ibom, and, most recently, Bayelsa—formerly PDP strongholds—points to a larger trend that may draw Fubara along, according to Nwuke, a former Rivers Commissioner for Information and member of the National Assembly for Etche–Omuma.
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? It may have come as a surprise, but when you consider the crisis in the PDP, was it avoidable? Possibly not.
“When a party is bedevilled by crisis, people will naturally look for alternatives. The anti-defection provisions in the constitution recognise differences at the national level, and there are clear indications of such differences in the PDP.”
Describing the PDP’s recent internal actions—including issuing an unprecedented “expulsion certificate”—as signs of deep-seated turmoil, Nwuke said PDP members are simply reacting to a party that “has not been this divided in a long time.”
Speaking on speculation that Fubara might soon join the APC, 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 the PDP. And if he does, he will not be the first.”
However, a senior Government House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity dismissed the rumours, insisting Governor Fubara had shown no sign of defecting.
“We are not aware that the governor wants to defect,” he said. “Even the lawmakers claiming to have moved to the APC have not fulfilled the Supreme Court requirement of registering at their wards. Until they produce evidence, nobody should take their claims seriously.”
The official also added that the APC’s upcoming national convention means anyone intending to join the party at this time “would have shown clear signals,” which Fubara has not.
Meanwhile, despite Fubara’s insistence that the newly rebuilt Assembly complex will be finished this month and his pledge to submit the 2026 budget there, new tension may be building as the Amaewhule-led Assembly continues to meet at the legislators’ residential quarters along Aba Road.
Amaewhule questioned the governor’s tardiness in sending the House a complete list of commissioner nominees during their meeting last Friday. He pointed out that Fubara was operating the state with just eight commissioners, which he claimed went against constitutional standards.
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