The Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of betraying the party and the people of the state by defecting amid the lingering political crisis in Rivers.
The allegation was made on Thursday in Port Harcourt by Dr Nname Ewor, a factional Caretaker Chairman of the PDP in the state, during a press conference.
Ewor recalled that the political rift between Governor Fubara and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly began less than a year after he assumed office, eventually plunging the state into a prolonged political crisis.
According to him, President Bola Tinubu intervened in the dispute, and part of the peace agreement reached was that Fubara would not seek a second term in office. He further claimed that the governor was also required to reinstate Chief Ohna Awuse as Chairman of the Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council.
Ewor alleged that the agreement also included the removal of Tammy Danagogo as Secretary to the State Government and Edison Ehie as Chief of Staff. He claimed that Governor Fubara failed to comply with the terms of the agreement, leading to the collapse of the peace process and the subsequent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Tinubu.
The PDP chieftain further alleged that another agreement was reached between the governor and the president shortly before the emergency rule was lifted, which he said eventually culminated in Fubara’s defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He claimed that following the defection, the governor openly stated that President Tinubu would compel members of the State House of Assembly to pass the 2026 budget. Ewor also alleged that Fubara boasted that the president would pressure the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to back his second-term ambition.
Ewor called on the governor to disclose the terms of the agreement allegedly reached with President Tinubu before the lifting of the emergency rule, insisting that the people of Rivers deserved transparency.
“The mandate Governor Fubara holds was freely given to him by the people of Rivers State, and every decision he takes affects those who entrusted him with that mandate,” he said. “It is therefore necessary for him to make public the terms of the peace agreement entered into before the emergency rule was lifted, so that Rivers people can make informed decisions.”
He recalled that the PDP had approached the Supreme Court to challenge the declaration of the state of emergency in a bid to protect its electoral mandate.
“Today, Governor Fubara has transferred that mandate to the APC, which, in our view, is unjust,” Ewor added.
The PDP leader also accused Fubara of misleading party members into attending the PDP convention in Ibadan, while he allegedly stayed away from the event, a matter he said is now before the courts.
Ewor further disclosed that he has aligned himself with calls by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for the re-election of President Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
