By Ogungbayi Beedee Adeyemi
Sendtips: adeyemi@ddnewsonline.com
Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara bowed to mounting pressure on Tuesday, officially defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), hours after a closed-door meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja. The move, which blindsides his erstwhile godfather and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike who remains entrenched in a defiant PDP faction has deepened the opposition’s leadership vacuum, raising questions on who truly steers PDP amid its fractures, while APC’s Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda solidifies control under Tinubu’s shadow.
Fubara, flanked by loyalists at a stormy stakeholders’ meeting in Port Harcourt’s Government House, declared:
“PDP failed to protect me during the crisis. APC offers the support I need. We are moving en masse to fully back President Tinubu’s second-term bid.”
The defection Rivers’ fifth PDP governor to APC this year follows weeks of speculation fueled by Wike’s camp’s aggressive overtures and Fubara’s isolation in PDP’s Wike-Damagum rift. Last Friday, 16 Wike-aligned Rivers lawmakers had already jumped ship, validating the governor’s “survival” pivot. APC National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka hailed it as a “homecoming,” predicting a 2027 sweep in the oil-rich state.
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Wike, Fubara’s political mentor turned arch-rival, snubbed the defection fanfare, doubling down on his PDP faction’s bid to reclaim the party. At Sunday’s 104th National Executive Committee meeting at his Abuja residence, Wike lambasted rivals as “those we accepted into PDP” trying to “kill our party,” announcing a caretaker committee to run affairs pending a rival national convention.
The faction, led by Abdulrahman Mohammed (Acting Chairman) and Samuel Anyanwu (Secretary), plans state congresses and a convention to oust “illegitimate” leaders. Wike declared Oyo’s Seyi Makinde and Bauchi’s Bala Mohammed “on their way out,” signaling purges. Factional Board of Trustees Chairman Senator Mao Ohuabunwa backed the push, vowing to “reorganize” chapters.
Yet, PDP’s “official” helm is Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), elected National Chairman on November 16 at the Ibadan convention with 1,516 votes. The event, boycotted by Wike’s camp, expelled Wike, Ayodele Fayose, and Anyanwu for “anti-party activities.” Turaki, a Jonathan-era minister, leads a faction recognized by INEC, but Wike’s group—controlling key states like Rivers (pre-Fubara)—claims legitimacy via court wins and “founding member” status.
Analysts like Dr. Nduka Odo call it “structural collapse”:
“Turaki holds the gavel, but Wike wields the hammer. PDP is two parties in one—until courts or INEC intervene.”
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In contrast, the APC’s leadership is unified under Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, elected National Chairman on July 24, 2025, by consensus at the party’s NEC meeting in Abuja, replacing Abdullahi Ganduje. The 57-year-old engineer and academic, ex-Humanitarian Affairs Minister, pledged “grassroots deepening” in his acceptance speech, backed by Tinubu’s directive to governors.
Tinubu remains the de facto APC leader, with Yilwatda as operational head. The party’s gains now five PDP governors, including Fubara bolster its 2027 dominance, per Morka: “Fubara’s entry seals the South-South.”
Fubara’s switch ends a toxic godfather-godson saga sparked by 2023 assembly crises. Wike, now a Tinubu ally, reportedly pressured the defection via federal incentives, but Fubara cited PDP’s “betrayal.” Wike’s silence speaks volumes his faction eyes a PDP “reclamation” without Fubara’s machinery.
PDP’s Debo Ologunagba (Turaki faction) called Fubara’s exit a “pity,” while Wike’s camp plots retaliation. As 2027 looms, Nigeria’s opposition teeters, APC swells.
DDNewsOnline
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