PORT HARCOURT — The factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Dr. Robinson Ewoh, has explained why his group has aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying the decision is aimed at supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election.
Ewoh accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of deceiving the PDP by claiming he could wrest political control of Rivers State from Wike, only to abandon the party midway into his tenure.
Addressing journalists in Port Harcourt, Ewoh said rather than pursue reconciliation after the lifting of emergency rule in the state, Governor Fubara allegedly resorted to boasting that President Tinubu would compel members of the State House of Assembly to pass the budget and force Wike to support his re-election.
He also demanded that Rivers people be fully informed of the terms of the peace agreement allegedly brokered by President Tinubu before the lifting of the emergency rule.
“The mandate Governor Fubara holds was given to him by the people of Rivers State, and his actions and inactions affect everyone. It is therefore incumbent on him to fully disclose all agreements he entered into in the peace deal brokered by the President before the emergency rule was lifted,” Ewoh said.
Tracing the political crisis in the state, Ewoh recalled that Governor Fubara was elected for a four-year term but fell out with members of the Rivers State House of Assembly within his first year in office. He said the disagreement culminated in the bombing of the Assembly complex and the intervention of President Tinubu, who brokered an initial peace pact.
According to him, the breakdown of that agreement plunged the state into prolonged political instability, which eventually led to the declaration of a state of emergency in March 2025.
“During this period, many of us were misled by propaganda and lies into believing that the governor could wrest political control from Wike. Rather than giving us the true picture, we were deceived,” Ewoh alleged.
He said a second peace agreement was later brokered by the President during the emergency rule, but unlike the first, it was neither documented nor disclosed to Rivers people. He added that the collapse of the agreement eventually led to Governor Fubara’s defection from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in December 2025.
Ewoh said the PDP challenged the declaration of the state of emergency at the Supreme Court to protect its mandate, only for the governor to later “take that mandate” to the APC.
He also criticised Governor Fubara’s role in the PDP National Convention held in Ibadan in November 2025, noting that although the governor was still a PDP member at the time and supervised preparations for the convention, he failed to attend.
“At the Ibadan Convention, the Rivers State Executive Committee of the party was dissolved. Asking us to attend a convention he knew he would not attend amounts to double standards,” Ewoh said.
On the constitution of the PDP Rivers State Caretaker Committee, Ewoh said it was validly formed by the party’s National Working Committee in December 2025, following the dissolution of the state executive.
He listed prominent party leaders who nominated members of the caretaker committee, including former PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Austin Opara; former Minister, Abiye Sekibo; former Governor, Celestine Omehia; and former Senator, Lee Maeba.
Ewoh also referenced the recent “thank you” visits by Wike to the 23 local government areas of Rivers State, during which the FCT Minister reportedly accused Governor Fubara of breaching agreements reached before the lifting of the emergency rule.
According to Ewoh, the alleged agreements included conditions that the governor would not seek a second term and would make specific changes in his administration, which Wike claimed were not honoured.
While noting that the issue of a second term is now a matter for Governor Fubara and his new party, the APC, Ewoh insisted that Rivers people deserve full disclosure of all agreements reached in the interest of transparency and accountability.
“These issues affect our collective interest, welfare and the peaceful governance of the state. Rivers people must be allowed to make informed decisions ahead of the 2027 general elections,” he said.
He concluded by urging Governor Fubara to address Rivers people, Nigerians and the international community on the full details of the agreements reached in the peace process brokered by President Tinubu.
