The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has launched a blistering attack on Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara following his defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday. The Kabiru Turaki-led faction of the opposition party characterized the move as a “self-inflicted injury” and the predictable climax of choices the governor “willingly embraced.”
Governor Fubara formally announced his exit from the PDP and subsequent move to the APC during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt. His decision follows a year of intense political turmoil in Rivers State, which recently saw 17 members of the State House of Assembly loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike and led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule also defect to the APC, fundamentally altering the legislative power balance.
In a statement issued late Tuesday night by National Publicity Secretary Ini Ememobong, the PDP distanced itself from any blame for the governor’s political predicament. The statement asserted that Fubara’s departure merely affirmed the legal maxim: volenti non fit injuria” to one who is willing, no harm is done.”
The party insisted that the political travails and eventual departure were products of Fubara’s own decisions.
“Everyone who has followed developments that culminated in this uneventful defection will recall that the Governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination,” the statement read. “Having done so voluntarily, he cannot turn around and accuse our party or any person or group of failing to protect him.”
The PDP noted that various civil society groups, democratic actors, and Nigerians across political divides had defended the governor at every stage of the crisis until he “capitulated.”
While expressing concern and “pity” for the departing governor, the PDP issued a stark political warning, cautioning against what it termed the “Stockholm Syndrome.” This suggestion implies that the governor may have succumbed to continuous pressure or developed an affinity for forces aligned with the Federal Government.
The party used the development as a platform to highlight what it described as the “dysfunctional nature of Nigeria’s democracy,” lamenting a political climate where powerful individuals allegedly deploy “federal might” to overwhelm opponents, often at the expense of established democratic institutions.
The statement concluded by renewing the opposition’s long-standing accusation that the ruling APC is actively bent on creating a one-party state and shrinking Nigeria’s political space.
“Democracy is under severe attack,” the PDP warned, urging Nigerians and the international community to resist what it calls a dangerous slide toward electoral authoritarianism. Fubara is among several governors this year who have switched allegiance to the ruling APC, further fueling the PDP’s concerns over the stability of the multi-party system.
