President of the Ijaw National Congress, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, has said there is nothing wrong if suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, defects from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Okaba made the statement during an interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief on Thursday, days after Fubara met with President Bola Tinubu in Lagos.
The meeting has continued to elicit reactions, with many describing it as an indication that Fubara might defect to the APC.
Reacting to the reports, Okaba opined that nothing is wrong if Fubara defects to the APC, especially if such a move helps to resolve the state’s prolonged political turmoil.
Speaking on the possibility of the defection, he said, “There’s nothing wrong about that.”
“At this point we must be realistic, and we must have an understanding of the Nigerian politics. We operate a ‘malutocracy’; we don’t have political parties anymore, but platforms for political contestations.
“What we have are just platforms put together from people to transmit or oscillate from one place to another. If we have state governors and former vice presidential candidates of parties just moving on, to the extent that one of the governors said, ‘If you don’t move with me, I will sack you.’”
He also pointed to Fubara’s earlier declaration that he would “do anything to bring back peace to the state,” suggesting that any political realignment should be viewed through the lens of restoring calm to the state.
Newsmen report that Tinubu had, on March 18, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the state House of Assembly for six months.
He subsequently appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas as the state’s administrator to oversee governance during the period.
