Reacting to Governor Fubara’s departure from the party — an action he defended by claiming he did not receive protection from the PDP — the opposition party dismissed his explanation as “pitiful,” insisting that the defection was part of a larger pattern of political coercion enabled by state power.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has raised a fresh alarm over what it describes as Nigeria’s accelerating drift toward authoritarian rule, insisting that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) reflects a broader crisis of democratic collapse.
Reacting to Governor Fubara’s departure from the party — an action he defended by claiming he did not receive protection from the PDP — the opposition party dismissed his explanation as “pitiful,” insisting that the defection was part of a larger pattern of political coercion enabled by state power.
In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, the PDP, led by Kabiru Turaki, argued that “the Governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination.”
The party stressed that, “Having done so voluntarily, he cannot turn around and accuse our party, or any other person or group, of abandoning or failing to protect him."
The statement added that, “Whilst a person at a crossroad of threats of existential proportion may suffer from temporary amnesia caused by trauma, the Governor should have nothing less than praise for our party, civil society organisations, and all Nigerians who freely stood up in his defence since this crisis started, until he capitulated."
The PDP further warned that the unfolding events in Rivers are symptomatic of the growing erosion of democratic safeguards under the ruling party.
“It is our prayer that the Governor does not suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, where a victim falls in love with their captor. In all, despite these, we pity the Governor and wish him well,” it stated.
Emphasising the party’s deeper concern about the country’s political direction, the statement noted that, "Furthermore, the Rivers situation is a testament to the dysfunctional nature of our democracy, where individuals are bigger and stronger than institutions and can use the apparatus of the Federal Government to suppress political opponents and bring them to their knees. Democracy is severely threatened by acts of this kind, and all well-meaning people should unite in condemning this progressive decline of democratic norms.”
The PDP warned that Nigeria is now visibly inching toward authoritarian rule.
"Finally, we reiterate to Nigerians and the global community that with the unrelenting disposition of the ruling party towards the attainment of a one-party state and the constriction of the political space, democracy is under severe attack in Nigeria. Everyone must rise together to oppose this ignoble path toward electoral authoritarianism.”
On Tuesday, SaharaReporters reported that Fubara officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The governor reportedly announced his defection during a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Fubara's defection marks a significant shift in the political landscape of Rivers State, a South-South state traditionally considered a stronghold of the PDP.
It is also expected to have wider implications for party alignments and power dynamics ahead of future elections.
SaharaReporters reported that on Saturday, December 6, that Fubara said that he was still serving as a governor of the state after the six-month emergency rule period because of the “special favour” of President Bola Tinubu.