After Governor Siminalayi Fubara recently defected to the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the people of Rivers State to cast landslide ballots for both President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Fubara.
Ajibola Basiru, the APC National Secretary, made the request while speaking to party supporters in the state.
Rivers State Television shared a video of Basiru’s comments on Facebook.
According to the Rivers State Government House, Basiru gave a speech on Monday at the Elimgbu Permanent Secretaries’ Quarters commissioning.
Basiru congratulated the governor and the party, saying that the APC benefited from Fubara’s performance in office.
“When the governor is doing well, it simply means that our party is doing well, so I congratulate both our governor and our party,” he declared.
“But continuing to vote for our party, the APC, in every election is the only way you can compensate the governor and the people of Rivers State.”
In upcoming elections, especially the presidential race, the APC scribe expressed confidence that Rivers State will provide the party with a large number of votes.
“And I am aware that the votes for our party, our governor, and our president in the upcoming general election will be extremely large in Rivers State,” Basiru continued.
With Fubara’s defection to the APC, the ruling party now practically controls every state in the South-South region, a significant political change in an area that has long been dominated by the Peoples Democratic Party.
Following months of political unrest in Rivers State that put him against his predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, the governor made his decision a few days after visiting President Tinubu.
A divided House of Assembly, threats of impeachment, and a six-month state of emergency issued by the president were all consequences of the crisis.
APC leaders have stepped up their efforts to position Fubara as the party’s political leader in Rivers and a significant electoral asset in advance of the general elections in 2027 after his defection.
Rumors that the party is preparing the governor for a second term have also been stoked by the demand for large numbers of votes.
Ita Enang, a former presidential adviser and ambassadorial candidate, had previously told Premium Times that the APC leadership was in agreement to give defecting governors automatic return tickets.
Basiru’s remarks seemed to confirm such viewpoint by directly associating sustained support for Fubara’s government with support for the APC.
