Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, formally abandoned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and crossed over to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), marking one of the most dramatic political realignments since the crisis that rocked the state earlier this year.
Fubara announced the move during a high-level stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt, declaring that continued “backdoor support” for President Bola Tinubu was no longer tenable.
Fubara said, “We can’t support President Tinubu from the shadows. Today, everyone who has stood with me through our struggles has agreed, we are moving to the APC.”
His defection adds to a growing wave of PDP governors switching camps.
Governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom), Peter Mbah (Enugu), and Douye Diri (Bayelsa) have all recently defected, reshaping the political map of the South-South.
Fubara’s announcement came barely 24 hours after a quiet visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House, Abuja.
He arrived at the Villa around 5:01 p.m. and met privately with the President before departing less than an hour later. Details of their discussions were not made public.
The defection is the latest chapter in a tumultuous political year for Rivers State. On March 18, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the state, suspending Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the House of Assembly for six months following escalating tensions between the governor and lawmakers loyal to the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas was appointed interim administrator to run the state, a move that generated widespread national debate.
When the emergency period ended, Fubara returned to office, calling the six-month intervention “a deeply challenging phase,” but one he accepted in the interest of restoring order.
In a statewide broadcast at the time, he said he deliberately refused to challenge the constitutionality of the federal intervention.
He stated, “I chose peace over personal or political advantage. I cooperated fully with the President and the National Assembly to preserve our institutions.”
Tinubu would later broker peace among Fubara, Wike, and the state legislature, a breakthrough that eased fears of a prolonged constitutional crisis.
Fubara said the reconciliation was embraced “for the sake of the people of Rivers State” and to ensure governance was not derailed by political rivalry.
Tuesday’s defection signals a full political realignment in Rivers, with Fubara openly aligning with the President and the ruling party months after surviving one of the most intense political crises in the state’s history.
