Rivers State Commissioner of Information, Joseph Johnson has dismissed rumours that Governor Siminalayi Fubara was joining the Action Peoples Party (APP).
Johnson questioned why there was ongoing speculation about Fubara defecting to the APP when the governor had “reaffirmed” to members of the PDP Board of Trustees that he remains committed to the PDP.
“He is a member of the PDP. He preaches PDP. It is in his DNA. He is the vice chairperson of the PDP Governors Forum. You cannot be a vice chairperson of the forum without being a member of the PDP.”
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When reminded that Wike, in his address to PDP delegates on Saturday, had acknowledged the presence of some “unstable characters” in the party who were joining the APP, Johnson declined to comment, noting that the minister did not specifically mention Governor Fubara.
“But to put the record straight, Fubara is a bona fide member of the PDP and vice chairperson, Nigerian Governors Forum: PDP caucus,” Johnson said.
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Speaking to delegates at the party secretariat in Port Harcourt on Saturday, Wike, without naming the governor, mentioned he was aware that some “unstable characters” within the PDP in the state were planning to join the Action Peoples Party (APP).
“They thought we would come to them and start begging. Are we begging?” he queried in a remark that was intermittently disrupted by cheers and applause.
“Let them go and see what is happening in Abuja. So they know if you’re talking about politics in Nigeria, we are more relevant than them.”
Governor Fubara has not commented on the speculation about his potential move to the APP.
However, recent developments suggest that the APP could be his destination if he decides to leave the PDP.
For instance, the Rivers APP secretariat has been attacked twice in less than a month. Channels Television reported that gunmen recently shot a security guard at the APP secretariat.
This attack followed a bombing of the party’s secretariat in the New GRA area of Port Harcourt less than a month earlier.
Despite these incidents, APP Chairperson Sunny Wokekoro assured reporters that the attacks would not deter the party from participating in next month’s local government elections in the state.
Last month, Punch newspaper reported that Wokekoro had denied that Fubara was a member of the APP but encouraged him to consider running for re-election under the APP banner in 2027.
Shortly after, The Guardian reported that Wokekoro had also dismissed rumors that Fubara was funding the party.
The Guardian suggested that the recent bombing of the party’s secretariat was related to the speculation about Fubara’s defection, though the office complex has since been repaired.
“The governor is not in any way funding the APP,” Wokekoro said, describing the PDP as a “dying” party.
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