According to people close to the Government House, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara is expected to declare his intention to switch from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The political action follows Fubara’s recent resolution of a long-running and acrimonious dispute with his predecessor and political godfather, Nyesom Wike, who is currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The pro-Wike members of the Rivers State House of Assembly attempted to remove Governor Fubara from office as the political crisis, which started at the end of 2023, quickly worsened. An arson attack on a portion of the State House of Assembly complex occurred in October 2023, during the height of the crisis.
The Federal Government was eventually forced to intervene in the battle. When President Bola Tinubu proclaimed a State of Emergency in Rivers in March 2025, Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the House of Assembly were suspended for the first six months.
Ibok Ekwe Ibas, a former Chief of Naval Staff, was the only administrator in charge of the state until September 2025, when the suspension was lifted.
The Whistler reports that sources speculate that Fubara’s impending defection could be seen as an attempt to align himself with the federal power structure and seek political safety, especially since his political base within the split PDP may have been severely undermined during the power struggle.
After obtaining the support of then-Governor Wike, Fubara, the former Accountant General of Rivers State (2020), won the PDP governorship primary in May 2022. He then defeated Tonye Cole, the APC candidate, by a margin of more than 300,000 votes to win the governorship election in March 2023.
Fubara reportedly met with President Tinubu behind closed doors on Monday night at the Presidential Villa.
