By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi
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Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Friday declared himself the undisputed leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the oil-rich state, flashing his freshly minted party registration card stamped with number “001” as proof of his top-dog status just days after ditching the crumbling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a fiery address to thousands of APC faithful at the party’s state secretariat in Port Harcourt his first major outing since the December 10 defection Fubara thundered:
“Today, I am not just a member of the All Progressives Congress, I am the number 1 in Rivers state. My registration card carries 001!”
The declaration, met with thunderous applause and chants of “Sim on top!,” underscored Fubara’s swift power grab within APC ranks, sidelining godfather Nyesom Wike’s factional influence and signaling his intent to dominate the 2027 polls under President Bola Tinubu’s umbrella.
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Fubara, 58, waved the laminated card complete with his photo, biometrics, and the golden “001” serial before draping himself in an APC branded agbada, vowing to “reclaim Rivers for true progressives.” He credited Tinubu’s “fatherly intervention” during their Abuja tete-a-tete for smoothing his entry, promising to deliver the state’s 23 LGAs and oil bloc for the president’s re-election.
The “001” tagline echoes Fubara’s PDP origins where he was Wike’s handpicked successor in 2023 but now repurposed as a jab at his former boss, who remains mired in PDP’s factional wars. Sources say Fubara handpicked the number during Tuesday’s mass registration drive, enrolling 10,000 supporters en masse to flood APC’s Rivers chapter.
Wike, attending a PDP NEC meeting in Abuja, snubbed the event, but his allies whispered of “betrayal.” APC National Chairman Nentawe Yilwatda hailed Fubara via video: “Welcome home, Number One! Rivers is APC’s fortress now.”
Fubara’s boast comes amid whispers of a potential 2027 Senate bid for Wike, leaving the governorship open but insiders say Fubara eyes a second term. His defection, the sixth PDP governor to APC this year, has swelled party ranks but risks internal clashes with Wike loyalists controlling key structures.
PDP’s Turaki faction called it “a joke,” while Wike’s camp plots retaliation. As Rivers’ oil dollars flow, Fubara’s “001” gambit could either unify APC or ignite a civil war.
DDNewsOnline