Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has let loose a savage attack on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), blaming the opposition party for his political ordeal and insisting he was never truly part of it.
Speaking on Wednesday night during his first visit to the national secretariat of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, the governor said his move to the ruling party was not a shock defection but a natural homecoming, declaring that he had always been “a progressive at heart.”
Questioning his years in the PDP, Fubara said he was abandoned and isolated when it mattered most.
“If I have to be honest, was I really a member of the PDP? I wasn’t. Whatever I suffered during the political crisis, 90 per cent of it was imposed on me by the party.
“I was in my former party, just there. During the crisis, you can’t associate me with any group. I was just, let me say, at the balcony—I wasn’t inside the house; I was outside, at the balcony,” he said.
Describing his defection as one of the easiest decisions of his life, Fubara stressed that it was driven by gratitude and shared purpose, not pressure.
“I think my transition was one of the easiest things I have done in my life. I call it easy because saying ‘thank you’ is very simple. Showing appreciation and gratitude is easy.
“My joining the Progressive Congress is to say thank you to Mr President and to join hands with other progressives to develop my state and Nigeria at large,” he said, adding that “it wasn’t a difficult decision; it was easy. If you know my story, you should understand that.”
Explaining his visit to the APC secretariat, the governor said he needed to understand the party from the inside.
“I can’t belong to a house without first coming into the house and understanding how it is arranged. I felt it would be proper for me to visit the National Secretariat today to familiarise myself with the members and the operations. This way, when I come here next time, it won’t feel as if I am a new person,” he noted.
Fubara pledged total loyalty to the APC and linked the party’s fortunes directly to the success of President Bola Tinubu.
“So, I am here this evening to assure you that I have come in, and we will work together to ensure that this party becomes greater than it is. The greatness we all desire from this party is the success of Mr President. We cannot grow or expand if Mr President is not succeeding,” he said.
Declaring Rivers State an APC stronghold, the governor added, “Because you are standing with Mr President, we are now standing with Mr President. This evening, on behalf of the good people of Rivers State, my supportive members of the National Assembly, and members of the State Assembly who are with us, I can assure you that your new home is Rivers State.”
In a symbolic flourish, he said, “I am saying now that I have come to my father’s house to see how it is. I am now in my father’s house, but it will also be proper for the father to come to his son’s house so that the people of Rivers State will know that this is truly a complete process.”
Further justifying his move, Fubara told party leaders, “When you say a new member of the Progressives, that is correct, but I have always been a progressive at heart. We now have a direction. Maybe before we didn’t have a leader or a governor as the head of the party. Now that I am a member, I will ensure that I bring everybody together for more unity and progress of the party in the state. So nothing to worry about—you have a direction now.”
Welcoming him, Senator Ajibola Basiru, speaking for APC National Chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, said Fubara’s entry had dramatically strengthened the party.
“As a party, we are very happy that you have decided to join because, with your orientation, you are progressive and true, and, of course, you complete the circle for us in the South-South region,” Basiru said.
He added, “The strength of our party, if it was at Power 15 before, is now much better—it has become Power 100.”
Basiru dismissed social media criticisms, insisting that elections are not won online.
“We take politics very seriously. Elections are not won on Twitter or in the pages of newspapers. Elections and politics are very serious business,” he said, expressing confidence that “as the day goes by, APC 2027 victory is assured.”
He also described President Tinubu as “not just a good administrator” but “a corporate leader and a politician,” stressing that the APC was building a truly pan-Nigerian political platform.
“What we are trying to create is a pan-Nigerian political party. We are trying to create what has been lacking in the trajectory of development of Nigeria. We are trying to create an elite consensus for development and progress,” Basiru stated.
