The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is attempting to pull suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara into its fold as the state prepares for a handover ceremony.
Darlington Nwauju, APC spokesman in Rivers, made the call while appearing on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday.
Nwauju said. “If I were the governor of Rivers State, on my return on Thursday, I would announce my defection to the All Progressives Congress.
“I think the governor should join the APC, and we would gladly receive the governor into our party.”
Speaking on if Fubara would lead the APC in Rivers if he defected, Nwauju responded that it was automatic.
“By the convention of our party, if he joins the All Progressives Congress, he becomes the leader of the party,” he added.
Nwauju also discussed the state’s administration under Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (retd.), who has been in charge for the past six months.
“APC has not officially demanded that Ibas give an account of his stewardship for the past six months.
“The budget approval he got was from the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. There is a committee from the House of Representatives overseeing the period of emergency.
“I do expect that the committee should be able to do due diligence, come up with that report, and tell Nigerians what they found out. It is one of their core mandates in the business of legislation and lawmaking,” he stated.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu and Fubara are set to return to the country on Tuesday, just before Rivers State returns to democratic control on Thursday.
Tinubu has cut short his vacation in France and will return to Abuja, while Fubara is due back from London.
Their arrival comes as the state administrator prepares for the transfer on Thursday, which will signal the end of Rivers’ state of emergency.
Tinubu left Nigeria on September 4 for his yearly holiday in France and the United Kingdom, which was supposed to last until September 10, but he returned earlier.
