Nigeria’s lawmakers in opposition have declared that suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara should not be held accountable if he defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), claiming that his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), deserted him first.
Their comments come as speculation grows regarding Fubara’s possible shift to the APC, following his recent visit to President Bola Tinubu in Lagos.
In a statement issued on Tuesday by opposition lawmakers’ spokesperson, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, they said that the PDP undermined its own position by handing political structures to former Governor Nyesom Wike, who is now a minister in the APC-led government.
The statement stated, “Well, if Governor Fubara eventually joins the APC, he should not be blamed; but, his party, the PDP, betrayed him. It will not be his fault, but that of the PDP, which provided the party structure to the former governor, Nyesom Wike, who is now a minister in the APC government.”
The members also chastised the PDP for backing defecting legislators who sought to impeach Fubara while failing to protect him from political attacks.
“PDP equally supported the lawmakers who decamped to the APC against the governor and wanted to impeach him, but his party did little or nothing to protect Fubara as its leadership was busy hobnobbing with Wike.”
Following the proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State and Fubara’s suspension, the lawmakers claimed that the PDP had done little but issue remarks.
It continued: “Even after his suspension, what did PDP do to help Fubara apart from issuing mere statements to condemn the president’s action in the afternoon and support it in the night?”
