Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has attributed the challenges he faced during the political crisis in the state to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Gossip News Now recalls that Fubara was locked in a prolonged political confrontation with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over control of the PDP structure and party affairs in Rivers State.
In an effort to restore calm, President Bola Tinubu suspended both the governor and the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months. Fubara was reinstated in September.
Shortly after his reinstatement, the governor officially defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, alongside several members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Speaking with journalists at the APC national secretariat in Abuja on Thursday, Fubara said he had always identified as a progressive and promised to promote unity within the APC to accelerate development in Rivers State and across Nigeria.
He insisted that he was never truly a member of the PDP, blaming the party for its role in the crisis that rocked the state.
“When you say I am a new member of the progressive family, that is correct, but I have always been a progressive at heart,” he said. “Now we have a clear direction. Perhaps before, we didn’t have a leader or governor as the head of the party. Now that I am here, I will work to bring everyone together for unity and progress in the state. There is nothing to worry about anymore because we now have direction.
“My transition was one of the easiest decisions I have ever made. Joining the APC is simply my way of saying thank you to Mr President and joining hands with other progressives to develop Rivers State and Nigeria. It wasn’t difficult at all.
“If I am being honest, was I really a member of the PDP? No, I wasn’t. About 90 per cent of what I suffered during the political crisis was imposed on me by the party. I was only a nominal member. During the crisis, I wasn’t aligned with any group. I was not inside the house; I was on the balcony.”
