My Defection To APC An Easy Choice — Fubara

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said he did not struggle with his decision to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing the move as an “easy choice.”

Fubara spoke on Thursday while addressing journalists at the APC national headquarters in Abuja, days after formally joining the ruling party.

According to the governor, his defection was not a difficult decision, as he had long felt disconnected from the PDP, particularly during the protracted political crisis in Rivers State.

“I think my transition was one of the easiest things I have done in my life,” Fubara said. “My joining the APC is simply to say thank you to Mr President and to join hands with other progressives to develop my state and Nigeria at large. It wasn’t a difficult decision at all.”

The governor revealed that, despite being a PDP member, he often felt sidelined and uninvolved in the party’s internal affairs, noting that he merely observed events from the ‘balcony’.

“If I have to be honest, was I really a member of the PDP? I wasn’t,” he said. “I was in the party just nominally. During the crisis, I wasn’t part of any group. I was not inside the house; I was outside, on the balcony.”

Fubara’s defection followed a prolonged political battle with his predecessor, former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, over control of the PDP structure and party affairs in the oil-rich state.

The crisis led President Bola Tinubu to suspend both the governor, his deputy and the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months to restore stability.

After his reinstatement in September, Fubara formally defected to the APC on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, in a move widely viewed as a significant political realignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Several members of the Rivers State House of Assembly also followed suit by joining the nation’s ruling party.

Declaring himself a “progressive at heart,” the governor said his entry into the APC would bring clarity and direction to the party in Rivers State, pledging to unite party members and work towards development in the state and across the country.

“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,” Fubara said. “There is nothing to worry about—we now have a direction.”