Rivers Crisis: Fubara’s loyalists pick APP forms for local elections

Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s loyalists are contesting the Rivers State local government election under the platform of the Action Peoples Party (APP).

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has withdrawn from the local elections.

The PDP’s boycott of the 5 October polls is the latest sign of a deepening political rift between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister, who has total control of the party structure in the state.

Governor Fubara allies who have picked the APP form for the election include a vocal critic of Mr Wike and the chairperson, caretaker committee of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Chijioke Ihnuwo.

“It’s my pleasure to inform the people of Obio-Akpor that I have scaled through the screening at the headquarters of Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).

“I will be running under the APP, the party that has an elephant as its logo,” Mr Ihunwo wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday.

“I want to specially thank Governor Fubara for giving me his blessings to contest for this position,” Mr Ihunwo wrote on the microblogging site, suggesting that he has the approval of Mr Fubara, a PDP governor, to contest the election on the platform of APP, a move that may be described as anti-party.

The same day, Mr Ihunwo uploaded on X his campaign poster bearing the APP logo.

He later announced that Achor Nna, a former councillor representing Mr Wike’s Ward in Obio-Akpor Legislative Council who resigned in March and declared support for Governor Fubara, would be the director general of his campaign.

Rivers govt reacts

PDP logo

Besides coming to power on the PDP platform, Mr Fubara is also the vice chairperson of the PDP Governors’ Forum, an influential group within the party.

Asked if Mr Fubara has given approval for his loyalists to contest the election under another party, the Commissioner of Information in Rivers, Joseph Johnson, told PREMIUM TIMES on Friday that the governor was not contesting the election.

“Governor Fubara is a PDP member, and he’s not contesting the election. Those who are contesting are spread all over the local government, all over the parties and all over the country.

“If PDP, which is our own party, decided that they would run for local government election, aspirants from 16 political parties across the 23 local governments are at liberty to contest the election,” Mr Johnson said.

“PDP is okay; they said they are not running; why would you break your head over someone that said he’s not running?” Mr Johnson said.

Mr Ihunwo did not respond to calls and text messages from our reporter.

The PDP chairperson in Rivers State, Aaron Chukwuemeka did not also respond to calls and text messages.

Fubara and APP

Although Mr Fubara has not officially joined the APP, there have been indications that the governor may turn to the party for political salvation if his efforts to reclaim the PDP structure from Mr Wike are unsuccessful.

For instance, the Rivers APP secretariat was attacked twice within a month amid speculations that Governor Fubara would join the party, an allegation Mr Fubara has dismissed as “propaganda.”

The Rivers APP chairperson, Sunny Wokekoro had, while briefing reporters after the party secretariat was bombed the second time, denied that Mr Fubara was planning to join the party but insisted that the attack would not dissuade the party from participating in the local government elections.

Mr Wokekoro also dismissed claims that Governor Fubara was funding the APP. He described the PDP as a “dying party.”

Mr Johnson, the information commissioner in Rivers, previously told PREMIUM TIMES that Governor Fubara “preaches PDP,” and has “PDP in his DNA”.

“You cannot be a vice chairperson of a forum without being a member of the PDP,” Mr Johnson had said, dismissing rumour that Mr Fubara was planning to dump the party.

They are joining APP – Wike

Although Mr Fubara is the governor of Rivers State, Mr Wike is in control of the PDP structure in the state, an anomaly the PDP Governors’ Forum wants to correct.

Mr Wike, who helped Mr Fubara to become governor, has been battling the governor over the control of the political structure in the state.

Governor Fubara boycotted PDP congresses in Rivers after his loyalists secured a court order against it, but the PDP national leadership released voting materials to Mr Wike, whose loyalists emerged party executives at ward, local government areas and state levels.

READ ALSO: Rivers Crisis: We didn’t defect to APC – Pro-Wike speaker

Mr Wike last month threatened to take the fight to other PDP governors backing Mr Fubara in the Rivers crisis.

Addressing delegates during the Rivers PDP congress at the party secretariat in Port Harcourt last month, Mr Wike, without mentioning names, said he was aware that some “unstable characters” in the PDP in the state would join the APP.