The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said Governor Siminalayi Fubara left the party of his own accord, dismissing claims that he was abandoned during his political battle with former governor Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
In a statement on Tuesday, the party’s spokesperson, Ini Ememobong, said the governor’s assertion that the PDP failed to protect him was “a revision of history,” insisting that Fubara chose the path that led to his defection. He suggested that the trauma of the prolonged crisis may have caused “temporary amnesia.”
“Having willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination, the Governor cannot turn around to accuse our party or anyone of abandonment,” he said.
Ememobong added that the PDP, civil society groups and Nigerians stood firmly behind Fubara “until he capitulated,” warning against what he described as the governor’s slide into “Stockholm Syndrome.”
He said the Rivers crisis had again exposed the weakness of Nigeria’s democratic institutions, accusing powerful actors of weaponising federal authority to subdue opponents.
According to him, the ruling APC has continued to narrow the political space in a push towards a one-party state.
“Democracy is under severe attack, and all well-meaning Nigerians must resist this descent into electoral authoritarianism,” he added.
Fubara’s switch to APC
On Tuesday, Fubara formally announced his defection to the APC at the Government House in Port Harcourt, shortly after meeting President Bola Tinubu in Abuja. He said the move was to enable him to fully support the president.
His defection followed a wave of resignations in the Rivers House of Assembly, where 16 lawmakers, including the speaker, dumped the PDP for the APC.