Opposition lawmakers in Nigeria have voiced strong support for embattled Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, stating that he should not be blamed if he chooses to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to them, the real betrayal lies with his current party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The comments come amid growing speculation over Fubara’s possible shift to the APC, following a high-profile visit to President Bola Tinubu in Lagos.
Speaking on behalf of the opposition bloc, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere released a statement on Tuesday asserting that the PDP’s internal missteps are the root cause of the current political tensions.
“Well, if Governor Fubara eventually joins the APC, he should not be blamed, but his party, the PDP, betrayed him.”
“It will not be his fault but that of the PDP, which gave the former governor, Nyesom Wike, a serving minister in the APC government, the party’s structure,” the statement read.
The lawmakers criticized the PDP for ceding too much influence to former Governor Nyesom Wike, who now holds a ministerial position in President Tinubu’s cabinet.
According to them, the decision to hand over the party’s political structure to Wike has significantly undermined Fubara’s leadership.
They also condemned the PDP’s perceived silence and inaction during the political crisis in Rivers State, especially when some legislators, who later defected to the APC, allegedly attempted to impeach Governor Fubara.
“PDP equally supported the lawmakers who decamped to the APC against the governor and wanted to impeach him, but his party did little or nothing to protect Fubara as its leadership was busy hobnobbing with Wike,” the lawmakers said.
Following Fubara’s suspension and the declaration of a state of emergency in the state, the opposition accused PDP leadership of offering only superficial responses.
“Even after his suspension, what did PDP do to help Fubara apart from issuing mere statements to condemn the president’s action in the afternoon and support it in the night?” the statement added.
