Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has poured cold water on Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s defection from the PDP to the APC, declaring that the move came too late and without any political structure to matter ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wike said Fubara crossed over after the real political weight in Rivers had already shifted, noting that about 22 local government chairmen and nearly half of the State Assembly members had defected earlier without the governor.
Speaking during an end-of-year media chat in Port Harcourt, the former Rivers governor mocked the defection, insisting that leadership is measured by the ability to move people, not by a lone decision.
“As a governor, he has the State Assembly to move with, he has the council chairmen, the party chairmen and members of the National Assembly to move with. But in this case, who did he move with? These people decided to move on their own,” he said.
Wike also dismissed the notion that public loyalty to President Bola Tinubu guarantees automatic political rewards.
“Shouting ‘on your mandate we shall stand’ does not imply automatic ticket. It doesn’t mean that,” he said.
He further debunked claims of celebration at Government House on the day of the defection, stressing that party-switching must follow due process.
“There is nothing like 001 in Rivers State. When you defect, you go to your ward and register for a new party,” Wike said, countering reports that Fubara was issued APC membership number 0001.
Wike added that whenever he decides to leave the PDP, his followers across several states would move with him, insisting that true leadership is about mobilising people.
Responding to Fubara’s comment that support for Tinubu should not be done “corner corner,” Wike said his own backing of the President has been loud and clear and costly.
“Nigerians know that in 2023, I supported the President. I didn’t hide it. If I were doing ‘corner corner,’ Assembly members and National Assembly members would not have gone with me. That is leadership,” he said.
On the Rivers political crisis, Wike blamed Governor Fubara for the collapse of the peace deal brokered by President Tinubu, accusing him of failing to keep faith with the State Assembly leadership.
“What stops you from calling the Speaker to ask how he is, or calling members of the Assembly to wish them a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year? You don’t have to wait for me to tell you to do that,” he said.
