• PDP unfazed over Fubara’s possible defection to APC
• Ndume urges political leaders to avert fresh crisis in Rivers

President Bola Tinubu has summoned the immediate past sole administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in what sources described as a high-stakes consultation.

Meanwhile, Rivers chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it remains unfazed over the claim of the possible defection of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

But former Senate Majority Whip, Mohammed Ndume (APC, Borno South), appealed to the executive and legislative arms of government in Rivers to prevent another political crisis in the state.

Ibas who, sources revealed, arrived at the State House around 5.50pm in brown native attire, was accompanied by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, and the Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede.

Earlier, Edun was sighted entering the villa briefly before leaving, only to return later carrying a file, a detail that underscored the gravity of the engagement with the President.

Ibas ceased to function as Rivers administrator on September 17, following the expiration of the six-month emergency rule imposed on the state in March.

Tinubu had, at the time, directed the reinstatement of Governor Fubara, his deputy, and House of Assembly members.  At its first sitting after the emergency rule, the House of Assembly led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule resolved to investigate the management of state funds during Ibas’ tenure.

Lawmakers specifically moved “to explore the process of knowing what transpired during the emergency rule with regard to spending from the consolidated revenue fund for the award of contracts and other expenditure.”

However, Ibas had publicly rejected the decision to probe his stewardship, insisting that his administration acted within the law. Official records show that Rivers received at least N254.37 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) between March and August 2025, covering the period Ibas held sway as sole administrator.

Details of yesterday’s closed-door meeting were still under wraps at press time. According to PDP, the governor, as an individual, has every legitimate right to take any political decision he deems fit, as far as such decision or action would be to the overall interest of the Rivers people against other interests.

While the six-month emergency rule, which ended on September 18 lasted, one of the items on the peace agreement Fubara reportedly signed in June was that he should defect to the APC, a move many saw as the surest way of capturing Rivers for Tinubu’s second term bid in 2027.

Chairman of Rivers PDP, Dr Robinson Ewor, said whatever decision the governor takes, “is personal”. He added that he was not aware of such plan, neither had the governor informed him of his intention to leave the party.

To confirm the fear of Fubara’s possible defection, Chairman of APC Governors’ Forum, Governor Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, was sighted ushering the Rivers governor to Tinubu’s office on Monday.

Also striking was the governor’s failure, during his state-wide broadcast when he resumed duties after six months, to acknowledge or mention the role of his party, the PDP, in ensuring that democracy returned to his state.

No less than 11 PDP governors had dragged the APC government to court seeking a reversal of the decision. In response to Ibas’ probe, Ewor stated that he could not instruct the Assembly on what to do, noting that the sole administrator could not account to the Rivers people. “But he can account to the House of Assembly. Rivers people didn’t elect him as their governor.”

Speaking on the sidelines of the just-concluded 2nd 2025 ECOWAS Parliamentary Seminar in Port Harcourt, with the theme, ‘Harnessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Parliamentary Efficiency, Ethical Governance and Development in the ECOWAS Region’, Ndume urged the Rivers Assembly and Fubara to work in unity for the benefit of the people.

Ndume said: “They have to work together. Democracy exists on three arms. They have to exist as an institution to make democracy work. If you remove the legislature from democracy, you don’t have democracy, and at the same time, you can’t have democracy without the executive. So, also you can’t have democracy without justice, and that is the judiciary. They are supposed to work independently, but independently to have government of the people for the people and by the people.”

Ndume commended Fubara for maintaining a peaceful disposition throughout the period of the emergency rule, explaining that he demonstrated maturity in leadership.