Port Harcourt, 5 December 2025 – In a stunning political realignment, seventeen members of the Rivers State House of Assembly elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), sources close to the Assembly confirmed this afternoon.
The defection reduces the PDP’s strength in the 32-seat chamber to just 10 members who remain loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, while six seats are currently vacant following earlier deaths and resignations.
The move is the latest chapter in the protracted political crisis that has gripped Rivers State since late 2023, pitting Governor Fubara against his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. Most of the defectors are known to be strong allies of Wike, who remains a powerful figure within the PDP nationally despite the escalating rift with Fubara.
Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, who has been at the centre of the crisis and was earlier declared removed by the Fubara-backed faction, is among the lawmakers who have now formally crossed over to the APC. The Amaewhule-led faction had previously been recognised by the courts as the legitimate leadership of the Assembly.
With the new numbers, the APC now commands a clear majority in the Rivers State House of Assembly for the first time since the Fourth Republic, potentially giving the party significant leverage over legislative matters in the oil-rich state.
Neither the state chapters of the PDP nor the APC have issued official statements as at the time of filing this report, but party insiders say the defection has been in the works for weeks and was finalised after extensive consultations with national leaders of the APC.
Governor Fubara’s media team has yet to respond to requests for comment.
The development is expected to intensify the already volatile political atmosphere in Rivers State and could trigger fresh legal and constitutional battles over the legitimacy of actions taken by the newly constituted APC majority in the Assembly.
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