The National Chairperson of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nentawe Yilwatda, has declared Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the leader of the party in Rivers State.
Mr Yilwatda, a professor, spoke on Friday during an interview on Hard Copy, a Channels Television programme.
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The APC chairperson, however, said the ruling party would support Mr Fubara for a second term in 2027 only if he wins the party’s primaries.
Mr Fubara, elected governor of Rivers in 2023 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress in December last year.
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Sworn in on 29 May 2023, the governor’s first tenure will elapse by 29 May 2027. There are indications that he will seek reelection, although he has yet to declare his interest.
‘Fubara leader of APC in Rivers’
“Governor Fubara is the leader of the APC in Rivers State, but he would need to coordinate with every other person in the state,” Mr Yilwatda said during the programme.
“In all the states, we have the state governors lead the parties in their respective states. In APC, we give them that privilege, but we also ask the governors to ensure inclusion — to coordinate and carry everyone along.”
Mr Yilwatda was asked during the programme if the APC would support Mr Fubara should he seek reelection in 2027.
“We did primaries in Ekiti State, and the governor contested with others before he emerged as the APC candidate. The same rule applies to every state — even Governor Fubara will have to go through the normal process if he seeks the ticket,” he responded.
‘Wike not our member’
Mr Yilwatda said discussions concerning the party’s affairs in Rivers State would be held with Governor Fubara, not the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who remains a member of the PDP.
“If we are discussing elections, we will not be discussing with Nyesom Wike. He is not a member of our party,” he stated.
“We will be discussing with Siminalayi Fubara because he is a member of the All Progressives Congress right now.
“I think we are over-flogging what we don’t need to over-flog.
“Wike is in the PDP. Allow me to discuss members of my party, not people who are not members. I am chairman of the APC, not chairman of all political parties in Nigeria,” he said.
Background
There has been debate about who is the leader of the APC in Rivers, following the defection of Mr Fubara to the party from the PDP.
The governor recently declared himself as the leader of the APC.
In response, Mr Wike dismissed the comments from Governor Fubara that he has become the leader of the APC in Rivers following his recent defection to the ruling party.
The FCT minister suggested that he, not Mr Fubara, is the leader of the APC in the south-southern state, despite being in the PDP.
The recent political tension in Rivers followed allegations by Mr Wike that Mr Fubara had reneged on the fresh peace deal brokered between them by President Bola Tinubu.
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Before now, a political crisis in Rivers, triggered by the feud between Governor Fubara and Mr Wike resulted in the declaration of emergency rule in the state by President Tinubu in March 2025.
Mr Fubara, who was suspended by Mr Tinubu for six months alongside all elected officials in the state, only returned to office in September of that year after the president declared an end to the emergency rule.
This was after President Tinubu brokered the second peace deal in June between Messrs Fubara and Wike alongside their supporters.
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