The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed concerns over speculations that Governor Siminalayi Fubara may defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the party remains unruffled by such claims.
Reacting to the reports, the state chairman of the PDP, Dr. Robinson Ewor, said the governor, like every Nigerian, reserves the constitutional right to make political choices he considers to be in the best interest of Rivers people.
“Whatever decision the governor takes is personal. I am not aware of any such plan, neither has he informed me of an intention to leave the PDP,” Ewor told reporters in a telephone interview on Wednesday.
Speculations over Fubara’s defection intensified after he was seen on Monday in the company of Senator Hope Uzodinma, chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, during a visit to President Bola Tinubu. Many observers linked the development to the controversial peace pact allegedly signed by the governor in June during the state’s political crisis, which some claimed included a condition to join the APC.
Notably, in his statewide broadcast on September 18—his first day back in office after six months of emergency rule—Fubara failed to acknowledge the role of the PDP in resisting the controversial proclamation. The PDP, along with 11 of its governors and other prominent Nigerians, had challenged the move in court, describing the declaration of emergency rule as “unconstitutional.”
On the State House of Assembly’s planned probe of Vice Admiral Ibok-Etteh Ibas (rtd), who served as sole administrator during the emergency period, Ewor said the Assembly has the constitutional right to investigate his stewardship.
“The sole administrator was not elected by Rivers people, so he cannot account to them directly. But he can account to the Assembly. His appointment was unconstitutional and unnecessary. If the Assembly wishes to probe him, that is within their right,” he stated.
Ewor also weighed in on the peace brokered between Governor Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Barr. Nyesom Wike, stressing that both parties should make public the terms of their reconciliation for transparency and the stability of the state.
He urged all stakeholders to put Rivers State above personal interests, saying: “It is in the overall benefit of our people and our development that the current peace efforts are allowed to endure.”
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