The Special Assistant on Electronic Media to the suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, Jerry Omatsogunwa, said that Fubara remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Omatsogunwa, reacting to reports of Fubara’s alleged planned defection to the All Progressives Congress, APC, expressed doubt that the governor was even aware of the rumoured defection, which surfaced on Sunday.
A report by Arise News had claimed that Governor Fubara, alongside his Delta State counterpart, Sheriff Oborevwori, and Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno, were planning to defect to APC.
The report suggested that the move was part of a broader strategic political alignment ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Governor Oborevwori defected on Wednesday alongside his deputy, his predecessor Ifeanyi Okowa, his commissioner, and major PDP leaders in his state to the APC.
A report by DAILY POST quoted Omatsogunwa to have stated: “I doubt if the governor is even aware of the rumoured defection right now that he wants to defect. I doubt if the governor is aware.
“As it stands now, we are still members of the PDP, and nothing has changed as far as we are concerned right now. That is the stance of things right now.
“For now, as we are talking, the governor has not talked about defection. He is still a bona fide member of the PDP.
“And I can tell you for free that the governor, our Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, is the Deputy Chairman of the PDP Governor’s Forum. And that’s how things stand right now. Today is 24 April, 2025, and this is 9:46 am; as it stands right now, the governor is still a bona fide member of the PDP. I don’t know anything about defection.”
Commenting on unconfirmed reports of a meeting between Governor Fubara and President Bola Tinubu over the weekend in London, Omatsogunwa neither confirmed nor denied the meeting but stated that if such a meeting did take place, it would be a positive step towards finding a way forward for the state.
Omatsogunwa further reiterated sentiments shared by others, suggesting that if a state of emergency were necessary, it should be declared in states genuinely experiencing instability, not in Rivers State, which he described as “peaceful.”
“If you live in the state, you would know that even the sole administrator that came in confirmed that Rivers State is very peaceful and there is no crisis here,” he said.
Omatsogunwa added: “If the man that they have brought here in his maiden broadcast said that there is no crisis here, it means in the first place he is not even supposed to be here.
“So, I don’t see anything prolonging the state of emergency. And you’ve been seeing agitations in the streets of Port Harcourt, where people are calling for the replacement of democratic apparatus in Rivers State.”
He accused Ibas of attempting to incite a crisis by allegedly appointing loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as sole administrators across the state’s 23 local government areas.
President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on 18 March, citing a prolonged political crisis that he said threatens critical national assets in the oil-rich region. Alongside the declaration, Governor Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly were suspended.
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