Fubara Deceived Us, Says Rivers PDP Chairman, Ewor

A factional Caretaker Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Dr. Nname Ewor, has accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of betraying the party and deceiving supporters before defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Addressing journalists in Port Harcourt on Thursday, Ewor said many PDP members were made to believe that the governor could wrestle political control from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, only for him to abandon the party “in the middle of a political sea.”

“While this disagreement was on, a lot of us were deceived into believing so many things that were not true. In other words, the governor deceived us. Rather than give us the true picture of things, we were led with propaganda and lies, making us to believe that the governor will wrestle political control from Wike.”

He alleged that rather than pursue peace after the emergency rule in the state, the governor had been boasting that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would compel members of the State House of Assembly to pass the budget and also “force Wike to work for his reelection.”

Ewor demanded that Rivers people be told the full details of the agreement reached before President Tinubu prior to the lifting of the emergency rule.

“The mandate he (Fubara) is holding was given to him by Rivers people, and all his actions and inactions affects all those whose mandate he is holding,” he said.

According to him, it is therefore necessary for the governor to disclose all terms of the peace deal brokered by the President before the emergency rule was lifted, so that citizens can make informed decisions about the future of the state.

Ewor recalled that the crisis began within the governor’s first year in office following a disagreement with members of the State House of Assembly, which eventually led to the bombing of the Assembly complex and a presidential brokered peace pact.

“This agreement broke down, plunging the state into a protracted political crises, cumulating into a declaration of a State of Emergency in March 2025,” he stated, noting that a second peace pact was later brokered but never documented or made public.

He said the collapse of that second agreement culminated in Governor Fubara’s defection from the PDP to the APC in December 2025, an action he described as improper since the mandate was won on the PDP platform.

“As a political party, we challenged the Declaration of the State of Emergency in the Supreme Court to protect our mandate. Today, the Governor has taken our mandate to the All Progressive Congress,” Ewor said.

The PDP factional chairman also spoke on the party’s 2025 National Convention in Ibadan, stating that all preparatory activities took place while Fubara was still a PDP governor, even though he did not attend the convention.

“At the Ibadan Convention, the Rivers State Executive Committee of our dear Party was dissolved, describing the governor’s absence as “double standard” and questioning the timing of his subsequent defection.

Ewor further defended the legitimacy of the current Rivers PDP Caretaker Committee constituted by the party’s National Working Committee in December 2025, saying its actions remain valid despite ongoing litigation.

He also referenced recent “thank you” visits by Minister Wike to the 23 local government areas of the state, during which the minister spoke about agreements allegedly reached with the governor before the emergency rule was lifted.

According to Ewor, allegations that Governor Fubara agreed not to seek a second term and to make specific administrative changes raised issues of public interest that require clarification by the governor himself.

“These issues bothers on our corporate interest, welfare and peaceful governance of the State,” he said, insisting that full disclosure is necessary for accountability to Rivers people.

Ewor concluded by aligning himself with the political direction of the FCT Minister and openly declaring his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s reelection bid in 2027.

Remi Johnson, Edited By Grace Namiji