The All Progressives Congress has explained why Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, is yet to be formally received into the party following his defection.
Speaking on a television programme on Sunday, the APC National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, said the delay was deliberate and rooted in strategic considerations, particularly the need to manage regional and religious sensitivities.
According to Yilwatda, the party opted to prioritise planned political activities in the northern part of the country ahead of similar engagements in the South.
“We are preparing activities in Kano. In politics, we decided to clear the North first because Ramadan is approaching and many people in the North are Muslims,” he said.
He added that several northern communities were sensitive to activities during the fasting period, making it necessary for the party to conclude its engagements there before shifting focus to the southern states.
“So, we felt it was better to attend to the northern governors and stakeholders joining the APC first before coming to the South, where Ramadan is not a major issue,” the chairman said.
Yilwatda dismissed suggestions that the delay was linked to questions about Fubara’s authority within the party, insisting that the Rivers governor was fully recognised.
“These are purely strategic decisions based on community sensitivities. It has nothing to do with Siminalayi Fubara lacking authority,” he added.
Responding to claims that Fubara had been unable to assert himself as the APC leader in Rivers State, the national chairman challenged critics to provide evidence of any internal dispute.
“I am the national chairman. Who has complained? Where is the petition? Has anyone written to us?
The media should not create petitions where none exist and then act as complainant, judge and enforcer,” he said.
On comments credited to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, regarding political actors in Rivers aligning under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda, Yilwatda said such alignments did not amount to official party activities.
“Support groups are not the same as party structures. They are not under the office of the party chairman,” he said.
The controversy surrounding Fubara’s position within the APC is set against the backdrop of a prolonged political crisis in Rivers State, following his fallout with his predecessor, Wike, after the 2023 elections.
The rift, which degenerated into a fierce power struggle, at one point led President Bola Tinubu to declare a six-month state of emergency in the state.
Fubara formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC on December 9, 2025, a move widely interpreted as part of efforts to consolidate political support ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
However, Wike, who remains an influential political figure in Rivers State despite not being a member of the APC, has openly questioned Fubara’s claim to party leadership in the state, arguing that control of party structures at the grassroots determines leadership.