- Safiu Kehinde
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“So, we have every reason because the truth, let nobody be fooled in this state, we have the people, we have the supporters. Our only thank-you to Mr President is to support him, and we cannot support the President in isolation;
“We cannot support the President if we don’t fully identify with him, not backyard support. So, we have taken that decision today since we have gotten the pass. Everyone here who had followed me, who had suffered with me, our decision today, this evening, we are moving to APC,” Fubara said.
The Rivers governor’s defection marked an end to the PDP’s two and half decades control of the oil-rich state.
According to reports, Rivers had been a stronghold of the PDP since 1999.
However, the party’s defeat to the APC in the 2015 presidential election marked the beginning of a realignment that forced political heavyweights, including governors, to join the ruling party.
Prior to his defection, Fubara was the only governor on the platform of the PDP in the South-South region, following the recent defection of governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta) and Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom) to the APC in April and June, respectively.
Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State dumped the PDP in November but has yet to officially join another party.