In a dramatic twist that could reshape political alignments in Nigeria’s Niger-Delta heartland, Governor Siminalayi Fubara has officially abandoned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The announcement came Tuesday evening during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt, following a closed-door meeting he held in Abuja with President Bola Tinubu. Fubara described the move as a “gesture of reciprocity,” pointing to the support, cooperation and encouragement his administration has received from the president in recent times.
This defection follows a wave of similar moves by lawmakers in the state’s House of Assembly — 16 to 17 members, led by the Assembly Speaker, recently dumped the PDP for the APC. With Fubara’s shift, the APC strengthens its grip on Rivers State, a region long regarded as a PDP stronghold since the return to democratic rule in 1999.
Supporters of the governor present at the meeting described the decision as essential to ensure stable governance and to align the state administration with federal priorities. Critics warn, however, that the mass realignment could deepen fault-lines in state politics, sidelining dissenting voices and transforming River State’s opposition landscape overnight.
The defection marks one of the most significant political shake-ups in Nigeria this year, reaffirming the sense that shifting allegiances may matter more than long-held party loyalties in the country’s evolving political chessboard.
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