Fresh details have emerged on why Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara lost the support of President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of the APC during his long-running political battle with his predecessor and FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Sunday PUNCH learnt from APC leaders involved in reconciliation efforts that Fubara allegedly lost favour after failing to keep to agreed settlement terms.
A member of the party’s National Working Committee, who spoke anonymously, said the APC declined to formally welcome Fubara after his defection because he lacked Wike’s backing.
“The President handed over the political structure of Rivers State to Wike. Fubara joined the party to outsmart Wike in a desperate move to secure a second term. But the party leadership already knew the body language of the President. That was why no official reception was given to Fubara after he joined the APC,” the source said.
The official claimed Tinubu advised Fubara to focus on governance and stay away from party politics, adding that the President intervened during impeachment attempts against him. According to the source, all sides agreed Fubara would not seek a second term.
Another APC chieftain alleged Fubara was not cleared by the party’s governorship screening committee and was effectively disqualified. A Wike ally also maintained that the APC was simply enforcing an agreement that Fubara would not contest again.
Fubara left the PDP for the APC on December 9, 2025, and later met party leaders in Abuja. Unlike other governors who defected, he was never formally received by the APC. Party chairman Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda later attributed the delay to “regional sensitivities.”
Sunday PUNCH also found that Fubara survived three impeachment plots between 2023 and 2026. Tinubu brokered peace after the first, declared a state of emergency during the second crisis in March 2025, and reportedly intervened again during the third attempt in January 2026.
Meanwhile, several South-South leaders and groups criticised Fubara’s withdrawal from the 2027 race. PANDEF pioneer spokesman Anabs Sara-Igbe, Ijaw leader Ibim Ibiwari, South-South Youths Initiative president Savior Imeabe and former aide Chris Itamunola all expressed disappointment, urging the governor to reconsider and warning against surrendering Rivers politics to interests they said do not reflect the state’s aspirations.
