Fubara: I was never really in PDP, I have always been progressive

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has described his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a natural move, saying he was never fully active in the PDP and has always been a progressive at heart.

Speaking with journalists at the APC headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, Fubara said he spent most of his time in the PDP “on the balcony,” observing party affairs rather than participating actively.

“If I have to be honest, was I really a member of the PDP? I wasn’t. Whatever I suffered during the political crisis, 90 per cent of it was imposed on me by the party. I was in my former party just nominally,” he said. “During the crisis, you couldn’t associate me with any group. I was just, let me say on the balcony. I wasn’t inside the house; I was outside, on the balcony.”

Fubara said joining the APC was an “easy choice” and a chance to work with like-minded progressives to drive development in Rivers State and Nigeria.

“When you say I am a new member of the progressive family, that is correct, but I have always been a progressive at heart,” he said. “Now that I am a member, I will ensure that I bring everybody together for more unity and progress of the party in the state. So there is nothing to worry about—you now have a direction.”

He added that his decision was also a way of showing gratitude to President Bola Tinubu and working with other progressives to advance the state and the country.