Rivers APC Opens Door to Fubara, Says He Would Be Warmly Welcome

The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has extended an open invitation to Governor Siminalayi Fubara to join its ranks, as preparations continue for the official return to democratic governance in the state.

Darlington Nwauju, the recently reinstated spokesman of the Rivers APC, called on the governor to consider switching parties upon his return to the state.

“If I were the governor of Rivers State, upon my return on Thursday, I would announce my defection to the All Progressives Congress,” Nwauju said. “We would gladly receive him into the APC.”

When asked whether Fubara would automatically assume leadership of the APC in Rivers State if he joins, Nwauju confirmed that he would.

“By the convention of our party, if he joins the All Progressives Congress, he becomes the leader of the party in the state,” Nwauju stated.

He also commented on the six-month administration of the outgoing state Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd.), clarifying that the APC has not formally requested an investigation into his stewardship.

“APC has not officially demanded that Ibas account for his tenure,” he said. “The budget approval he operated under was granted by the National Assembly, which also set up a committee in the House of Representatives to oversee the emergency period.”

Nwauju emphasized that it is within the committee’s mandate to thoroughly review the period and report its findings to Nigerians.

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu and Governor Fubara are expected back in the country on Tuesday ahead of the Thursday ceremony marking Rivers State’s transition back to democratic rule.

President Tinubu, who traveled to France and the United Kingdom for a vacation on September 4, is cutting his trip short, while Fubara is returning from London. Their arrivals coincide with the final transition activities organized by the Administrator, signaling the end of the emergency rule in the state.