There is mounting pressure on Governor Siminalayi Fubara and members of his camp to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
This comes after the Appeal Court’s judgment in Abuja, which gave some reprieve to Martins Amaewhule and 26 Assembly members who are in the camp of former Governor Nyesom Wike.
The judgment has further intensified the political tension in the state, with many calling for Fubara to exit the PDP due to the party’s apparent lack of support for him.
Franklin Ntekim, a political commentator, noted that the governor’s plight has exposed the PDP’s neglect and toxicity, making it difficult for him to win elections while remaining in the party.
He said, “It is obvious that he does not enjoy the support of the party. It is also clear that the FCT minister must have won the party to himself and thereby made the PDP in the state to be toxic to the governor. I want him to leave the PDP. I also don’t see why the former Vice President and the Presidential candidate of the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar has refused to visit the Governor in the face of the battles he is going through. It is very difficult to believe. It clearly shows a party that does not care for its own but dances to the whims and caprices of a single man”.
Meanwhile, Solomon Lenu, a human rights activist, also urged Fubara to leave the PDP, citing the party’s loyalty to Wike and the potential refusal to give tickets to the governor’s candidates in the upcoming local government elections.
The convener of Ogoni Development Drive (ODD) suggested that Fubara consider joining the Social Democratic Party (SDP) or Accord Party, citing their popularity in the state.
He said “SDP or Accord party may be okay. I will not want him to make a mistake of going to the Labor Party because its national leadership has been bought over by certain powerful forces in Abuja. The two parties mentioned earlier have a bit of popularity in the state. I would have preferred the Labor party, but that has been blocked by these forces”.
However, Hon Evans Bapakaye Bipi, director general of Simplified Movement, Governor Fubara’s grassroots political group, stated that the governor has not given any direction to defect and that they will follow his lead. Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, leader of PANDEF, advised caution, saying it’s too early to agitate for Fubara’s defection.
Meanwhile, the Rivers state chairman of the Labor Party, Hilda Dokubo, welcomed the possibility of Fubara joining the party, stating that their doors are open.
She said, “The Governor is a Nigerian citizen. He has every right to go wherever he wants to go. Whether he wants to come to our party or somewhere else, it is his inalienable choice. You cannot stay where you are not welcomed or appreciated. If he feels he is in a toxic situation, he should take a walk. Anywhere the Governor chooses to go, Rivers’ people will go with him. They will support him. If he comes to my party, we will gladly welcome him”.
It can be recalled that Governor Fubara had recently criticized the PDP, saying it had failed the people of Rivers State and was no longer playing its expected role in the political crisis.
“In our state today, we are no longer doing party. We are doing a movement, so you don’t blame me if I don’t go to the side of the party too much. The party has failed us here, so what we are doing here is to stand with our two legs on the soil of Rivers State, so that we can defend democracy,” he said.
