Siminalayi Fubara, the suspended governor of Rivers State, says the Peoples Democratic Party has lost a number of fans and adherents to the African Democratic Congress, which opposition leaders have endorsed in advance of the general elections in 2027.
According to a source, the followers have switched allegiance to Rotimi Amaechi, the former governor of Rivers State and current candidate for the ADC presidential ticket.
On July 23, Amaechi and other prominent opposition figures stormed Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, to officially establish the ADC in the state.
“There was a massive defection from the governor’s camp especially in the PDP, to the ADC.
“With the information I got recently, the governor upon his return will also dump PDP but it is not clear yet if he will be joining the coalition or the ruling party in the country”, the source said.
However, when contacted by The Intercept, Sydney Gbara, the Publicity Secretary of the Fubara-led faction of the PDP in Rivers State, said they remain in PDP until the governor says otherwise.
“For now, the governor has not told me or anybody that we will be joining the coalition. So we are very much in PDP.
“If the governor comes up today and says we are joining the coalition or APC, I will follow him”, he said.
Addressing the defection of some of the governor’s supporters and loyalists, Sydney simply said it is a matter of choice.
According to him, “politics is a matter of choice, people are free to take their support to wherever they want to. But there are others who are looking up to their leaders. Whatever he does is what they do.
“Many of us have decided to be with the governor and whatever interests he shares, will be our interests too”.
The Intercept reports that Governor Fubara, who was suspended on March 18, 2025, alongside his deputy and all state legislators over unmanaged crisis in his state, is expected to return next month (September).
