Port Harcourt, Nigeria – September 16, 2025
As Rivers State prepares for the end of emergency rule and a formal handover later this week, the state’s chapter of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has publicly invited suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara to defect from the opposition and join its ranks.
Speaking on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, APC state spokesman Darlington Nwauju urged Fubara to seize the moment:
“If I were the governor of Rivers State, on my return on Thursday, I would announce my defection to the All Progressives Congress. We would gladly receive him.”
Nwauju added that, by party convention, Fubara would automatically assume the role of state leader of the APC if he crossed over.
The comments come as attention turns to Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.), the administrator who has overseen Rivers for the past six months under emergency rule. Nwauju said the APC had not yet demanded an account of Ibas’s stewardship, but stressed that parliamentary oversight was expected.
Meanwhile, both President Bola Tinubu and Governor Fubara are expected back in Nigeria on Tuesday. Tinubu is cutting short a vacation in France, while Fubara returns from London. Their arrival sets the stage for Thursday’s historic handover, which will formally restore democratic governance in Rivers State.
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