Gov Fubara Dumps PDP for APC – Plateau’s Mutfwang Poised to Follow Suit in PDP Exodus

By Tgnews Reporter 

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has officially defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), joining a growing list of opposition governors crossing the aisle amid escalating party tensions.

Fubara, whose tenure has been marred by a high-profile feud with his predecessor and current Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, made the stunning announcement during a high-stakes stakeholders’ meeting at the Rivers State Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday evening.

Flanked by key party loyalists and supporters, the governor declared his move as a strategic pivot toward “stable governance and alignment with partners who support the progress of Rivers State.”

“This decision reflects my commitment to ensuring stable governance and aligning with partners who support the progress of Rivers State,” Fubara stated, according to attendees.

He credited President Bola Tinubu’s “overwhelming support” for the state as a key factor, adding that he had secured the president’s personal approval for the switch. The defection comes on the heels of Fubara’s closed-door meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Monday night, signaling the culmination of months of behind-the-scenes negotiations.

The move ends months of intense speculation fueled by the defection of 27 Rivers State House of Assembly members from PDP to APC earlier this year, which had left Fubara politically isolated within his former party.

Political analysts view it as a reciprocal gesture in the fragile peace deal brokered between Fubara and Wike, who remains a powerful APC chieftain despite past rifts.

Fubara’s jump to the APC bolsters the ruling party’s grip on power, adding to a wave of high-profile defections that have seen the APC swell its ranks of state governors to 25.

But the drama doesn’t end there: Sources within the APC’s National Working Committee (NWC) reveal that Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang is on the verge of following suit, potentially pushing the tally to 26.

Mutfwang, elected on a PDP ticket in 2023 amid factional infighting within the party, has been the subject of fervent defection rumors for weeks.

A PDP coalition in Plateau State publicly urged him to join the APC last week, citing alignment with Tinubu’s developmental agenda as imperative for the state’s progress.

Despite pockets of resistance from some APC stalwarts in Plateau—who have demanded disciplinary action against internal saboteurs—the governor’s defection is now “wrapped up,” according to NWC insiders.

“He has met with the President, and all is set for his reception into the APC in the next few days,” one source close to the matter confirmed.

Mutfwang himself has denied active plans but acknowledged overtures from APC members, framing the buzz as a testament to his administration’s popularity.

Plateau APC Chairman Rufus Bature had earlier cited unresolved “conditions” as a hurdle, but presidential intervention appears to have smoothed the path.

With Taraba’s Governor Agbu Kefas already in the APC fold, Mutfwang’s anticipated move would leave the PDP clinging to just five governorships: Adamawa, Bauchi, Oyo, Zamfara, and possibly one more holdout. PDP chieftains have decried the defections as a “betrayal of the masses,” but party insiders whisper of deeper fractures exacerbated by the 2023 election fallout and Tinubu’s olive branches to wavering allies.

As Nigeria hurtles toward the 2027 polls, Fubara’s bold leap—and Mutfwang’s looming one—underscore the APC’s aggressive expansion strategy, turning what was once a two-party duopoly into a one-sided dominance.