Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has stated that he will deliver the state for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027.
The governor made the announcement at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday after getting his All Progressives Congress membership card from Tony Okocha, the State APC chairman.
He also stated that he would be responsible for the welfare and needs of the party in the state.
Fubara stated that as the party’s leader in Rivers, he would do all possible to keep the ruling party active, including ensuring that members of the state executive were “taken care of.”
Fubara defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC on Tuesday, just days after 17 Rivers State House of Assembly members joined the ruling party.
He said that with him leading the party, it would be simpler to rally support to deliver Rivers for Tinubu’s reelection.
Speaking after receiving his APC membership card, the governor said that his choice to join the party was in the best interests of the state’s advancement.
The governor added that his defection was a reciprocation of Tinubu’s resolve to ensure he remained in office as governor.
Fubara said, “Let me thank my chairman for accepting to embark on this spiritual assignment. It is a spiritual assignment because if you had listened to me when I took this decision, it was for the safety, protection, progress, and development of our dear state.
“We can’t be doing our own here and going on a different course from the Federal Government, the ruling party. There is every reason to support Mr. President. If not for anything else, as a person, I know the sacrifice he has made to ensure that we still stand as a government.”
“So, I took this decision as my own return of favor—clearing the bush to ensure that his reelection in 2027 will be easy and smooth in this state. Now that we are all in one party, the job is easy to continue what we have promised Mr. President.
“We will do everything to keep APC as the main and active progressive party in Rivers State. We are not only going to stop there; it is my responsibility from this minute to ensure that the party is properly taken care of. I assure you that every need of the executive, every need of the party in this state, becomes my responsibility.”
Fubara called himself the “001” of the APC in Rivers after the Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, flagged off the building of the bypass to Port Harcourt International Airport and Toll Gate Road.
“I am the number one. Listen, I have collected my card, and the number is 001. The message is clear. We’re going to do everything to make sure that the 2027 election for the president will be a smooth ride in Rivers State.
“How do we do it? It is with all of you here. It is your support. The only thing we can do is to continue to tell Mr. President, Thank you.”
Speaking before flagging off the road construction, Keyamo stated that, “For us in the aviation industry, you (the governor) have solved one of our biggest problems.
“That road had been in a deplorable condition, and we have always wanted to give it a facelift so that those arriving at Port Harcourt—one of our oldest and international airports—will have a good impression of the city they are entering.
“So, we have been begging you to help us do it. And I’m sure when we leave here, everybody will see that you have done it for us.”
Keyamo described Fubara’s defection as a significant political coup. He stated that with Fubara joining the APC, the ruling party now controls all six South-South states, referring to the governor as “an elephant and the latest catch.”
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
