The Peoples Democratic Party on Tuesday blasted the All Progressives Congress over the defection of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, accusing the ruling party of orchestrating the political crisis that pushed Fubara out of the PDP.

Reactions emerged from both the state and national levels of the opposition party, with leaders insisting that Fubara’s exit neither weakened the PDP nor altered its structure in Rivers State.

On Tuesday, Fubara officially announced his defection from the PDP to the APC.

Fubara joined Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori; Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno; Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah; and his Bayelsa counterpart, Duoye Siri, all of whom defected from the opposition PDP.

With Fubara’s official declaration, all six states in the South-South – Edo, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta and Cross River – are governed by the APC.

Fubara, speaking during an emergency stakeholders meeting at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Tuesday, said he left his former party for two reasons: first, that the main opposition party could not protect him, and second, that he is still being addressed as “His Excellency, the Governor,” rather than “former governor,” because of President Bola Tinubu.

At the meeting held 24 hours after visiting the Presidential villa, Abuja, Fubara said his defection was in the interest of the state.

He pointed out that he got the assurances of the President of his support after their meeting in Abuja on Monday evening.

While noting that for the love the President had shown him, he remained indebted, adding that the state had the people, the support and the number to rally round Tinubu.

Fubara further said he would not make the mistake of stepping on any landmine set for him, hence Monday’s visit to Mr President, where he briefed him on the state of things in the state.

He stated, “Our dear leaders, I know you have been expecting to hear from me, especially this meeting that I had to arrange so urgently. But the meeting is going to end with very sweet information.

“You are aware that I went to see Mr President yesterday, and the reason why I went to that meeting is not just a personal visit, but it is a state interest consultation. I don’t want to make any mistakes this time around.

“I also wish not to step on any landmine that anyone is laying for us. So I was with Mr President yesterday to brief him on the situation of things in our state, which I believe he had taken note of, and he is going to act swiftly on it.

“But the most interesting part of the meeting is what you all have been waiting for. What you have been asking me for, the signal has finally arrived. We have the full support.

“We have the positive nod to leave where we are, because we didn’t get any protection. The reason why we are still standing is because of that place.

“And the truth is that without Mr President, there won’t be any His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara. It would have been a former governor.

“Our only ‘thank you’ to Mr President is to support him. And we cannot support Mr President in isolation. We can’t support Mr President if we don’t fully identify with him, not backyard support. So we have taken that decision today since we’ve gotten the pass.”

Fubara continued, “Everyone here who has followed me and suffered with me, our decision today, this evening, we are moving to APC.”

Immediately the governor made the announcement, the hall chorused ‘On your mandate we shall stand,’ with the governor singing along and thereafter ordered the removal of the PDP flag in the Government House.

Fubara added, “Please remove this PDP flag. We don’t need it here again. Now that our position has been made clear, every other formal process will commence. Let me thank you all for your support.

“I’ve not let you down before, I’m not going to let you down. The message is very simple. We are the ones who will give that support, and we will give that support with a loud ovation because we know that the people of Rivers State are with us. Thank you.”

Present at the meeting were the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Benibo Anabraba, his predecessor, Dr Tammy Danagogo, former Ambassador to the Netherlands, Oji Ngofa, and all former LG chairmen who served under Fubara, among others.

The PDP described the Rivers situation as a testament to the dysfunctional nature of Nigeria’s democracy, where individuals are bigger and stronger than institutions and can use the apparatus of the Federal Government to obfuscate political life out of their opponents and bring them to their knees.”

The Tanimu Turaki-led National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, in a statement on Tuesday, warned that Nigeria’s democracy was in danger, stressing that the ruling party’s push toward a one-party system and shrinking of the political space posed a serious threat.

“Democracy is terribly threatened by acts of this kind, and all well-meaning people should unify in condemning this progressive decline of democratic norms.

“We reiterate to Nigerians and the global community that with the unrelenting disposition of the ruling party towards the attainment of a one-party state, and the constriction of the political space, democracy is under severe attack in Nigeria.

“Everyone must rise together to oppose this ignoble trip toward electoral authoritarianism,” he said

The party, however, expressed pity for Fubara for defecting to the APC, insisting that his political troubles were self-inflicted, having willingly taken the path that led to his current predicament.

Ememobong said the Rivers crisis exposed a broken democracy where powerful individuals overpowered institutions and used federal machinery to crush their opponents.

He hoped Fubara did not fall into Stockholm Syndrome, where a victim became attached to his oppressor.

“The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has received the news of the formal defection of His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, from our party to the ruling party.

“This news, as pitiful as it is, is an exemplar of the old legal maxim, Volenti non fit injuria, meaning to one who is willing, no harm can be done.

“Everyone who has followed the developments that culminated in this uneventful defection will recall that the governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination. Having done so voluntarily, he cannot turn around and accuse our party, or any other person or group, of abandoning or not protecting him.

“Whilst a person who is at a crossroad of threats of existential proportion will most likely 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.

“It is our prayer that the governor should not suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, where a victim falls in love with his captor. In all, despite these, we pity the governor and wish him well.”

Also reacting to Fubara’s defection, factional chairman of the PDP in the state, Robinson Ewor, said the party remained intact, saying Fubara’s exit was nothing new.

Ewor, in a telephone chat with The PUNCH on Tuesday, however, said that though Fubara had just announced his defection, he had left the PDP long ago, even before the end of the emergency rule.

He said the APC-led government fought the governor to a standstill and successfully captured the state while the emergency rule persisted by conducting local government elections and installing choices in addition to dissolving all existing boards and agencies.

He further said the emergency rule was declared in the state essentially with the intent for the ruling APC to take over, insisting that there was no crisis anywhere in the state at the time.

“The governor’s defection to the APC is nothing new as far as I’m concerned. You know that the APC declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, not because there was a crisis in Rivers State, but because they wanted to take over Rivers State. During the state of emergency, they conducted a local government election and took over the 20 LGAs completely.

“Within the same period under review, they appointed all the boards, parastatals and agencies in Rivers State. So Fubara came back with nothing in his hands. If Fubara remains in PDP, he is like a non-existent figure.

“As far as I’m concerned, he has gone long ago, and the APC has captured the state long ago. Not because he wanted to go but because they fought him and they conquered him.”

The factional chairman loyal to the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee, however, said the party remained intact.

“PDP is intact. I remain in PDP. There are other PDP members. So, PDP is one of the registered political parties in the country, in the state.

“There are other states too where the governor defected, and the PDP is still there. States like Delta, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, etc. PDP is still in those states, and in Rivers too, the PDP is still here.”

Recall that the governor’s frosty relationship with the former governor and current Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, escalated into a wider confrontation involving the minister’s allies in the House of Assembly, eventually leading to the declaration of a state of emergency in the state on March 18, 2025.

Tinubu, declaring the state of emergency, suspended Fubara, Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the state House of Assembly for six months and appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas as sole administrator.

The President said the decision was taken to restore stability in the state, having witnessed political turmoil as a result of the disagreement between the governor and the lawmakers.

Upon returning from emergency rule on September 18, Fubara’s relationship with the lawmakers remained strained.

On Friday, December 5, 2025, 16 members of the House of Assembly, led by the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, announced their defection from the PDP to the APC, citing the intractable crisis and factionalisation of the PDP.

Earlier, before defecting, the lawmakers had passed a vote of confidence on President Tinubu and declared support for his 2027 re-election bid.

Also, on Monday, December 8, 22 of the 23 local government chairmen in the state, under the auspices of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, alongside their ward councillors, declared support for Tinubu’s second-term bid.

The only LGA chairman missing was that of Opobo/Nkoro, where the governor hails from.

The PUNCH reports that in the last LGA election conducted in the state by the sole administrator and now ambassador-nominee, Vice Admiral Ibas (retd), the APC won 20 LGAs while the PDP won three.

On Monday, a former member of the House of Representatives who represented Etche-Omuma Federal Constituency, Chief Ogbonna Nwuke, told The PUNCH that Fubara’s defection to the APC was likely due to the political developments in the South-South.