Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not happen by accident—it was the culmination of a carefully mapped political strategy endorsed at the highest levels of power, Patriotic Insights News has learnt.

The governor’s decision, announced on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, confirmed earlier signals that he was preparing to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But sources inside Government House say the timing—and the intention—was deliberate.

A Strategic Race Against Wike

According to a top ally of the governor, Fubara was advised by his political strategists to join the APC before his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, in order to seize control of the party’s structure in Rivers State.

“He was told plainly that entering the APC before Wike would secure his foothold. The calculation was simple: whoever gets in first takes the driver’s seat,” the source revealed.

The move followed a meeting with President Bola Tinubu on Monday, where Fubara reportedly received the President’s blessing to switch parties.

‘We Didn’t Get Protection Where We Were’ — Fubara

Addressing stakeholders, Fubara said:

> “I don’t want to make any mistakes this time around, and I don’t want to step on any landmine. I was with Mr President yesterday to brief him on developments in our state, and he has acted promptly.

The signal has finally arrived. We have the full support and the positive nod to leave where we are because we didn’t get any protection.”

He added that his move was also a show of loyalty to President Tinubu, whom he credited for stabilizing his administration amid past political turbulence.

> “Without Mr President, there won’t be any His Excellency Sir Siminalayi Fubara. So our only way to say thank you is to support him fully—not from the backyard,” he said.

Wike Locked Out of the Villa

Patriotic Insights News gathered that Wike has not had access to President Tinubu for about two months due to the internal crises he is grappling with inside the PDP.
This further strengthened arguments within Fubara’s camp that the governor should take early possession of the APC structure before any rapprochement between Wike and the Presidency.

Reluctance, Loyalty, and the Breaking Point

A source close to the governor revealed that Fubara initially hesitated out of respect for Wike.

“He felt it would be disrespectful to join the APC before his former boss,” the source said.
“He didn’t want to reopen the wounds of their earlier crisis. But the advice he got was that waiting would be politically disastrous.”

After consultations, Fubara accepted the strategy.

His loyalists across the state are expected to follow him to the APC in the coming days.

A New APC Leader in Rivers

With this move, Fubara effectively becomes the leader of the APC in Rivers State—an oil-rich battleground ahead of the 2027 general elections.

This power shift comes months after the governor reconciled with Wike following a bruising political confrontation that saw:

an attempted impeachment in 2023,

the burning of the Assembly complex,

and President Tinubu’s declaration of a State of Emergency in Rivers in March 2025, during which Fubara and all elected officials were suspended for six months.

From Civil Service to Political Chessboard

Fubara began his career in the Rivers civil service before rising to become the state’s accountant general in 2020.
His governorship victory in 2023 was largely credited to Wike’s political machinery.

Now, that machinery is being re-engineered—with Fubara at the controls, and this time, on a new political platform.