The Peoples Democratic Party has shown sympathy for Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara for joining the All Progressives Congress, asserting that his political troubles are self-inflicted, saying that he consciously chose the route that resulted in his present situation.
PDP National Publicity Secretary Ini Ememobong stated in a message issued on Tuesday that the Rivers crisis reveals a fractured democracy where influential figures dominate institutions and employ federal resources to suppress rivals.
Fubara declared in Port Harcourt on Tuesday that he, together with some of his appointees and supporters, had departed the PDP for the APC after meeting President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Monday.
He mentioned that the action was motivated by their choice to support President Tinubu, noting that they did not get the safeguard they anticipated from the PDP.
In his response, the PDP National Publicity Secretary expressed his wish that Fubara avoid falling into Stockholm Syndrome, where a victim develops a bond with their captor.
PDP stated, “The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party has received the news of the formal defection of His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the Governor of Rivers State, from our party to the ruling party.
“This news, as pitiful as it is, is an exemplar of the old legal maxim Volenti non fit injuria, meaning to one who is willing, no harm can be done.
“Everyone who has followed the developments that culminated in this uneventful defection will recall that the governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination.
“Having done so voluntarily, he cannot turn around and accuse our party, or any other person or group, of abandoning or not protecting him.
“Whilst a person who is at a crossroad of threats of existential proportion will most likely suffer from temporary amnesia caused by trauma, the Governor should have nothing less than praise for our party, civil society organizations, and all Nigerians who freely stood up in his defense from when this crisis started until he capitulated. It is our prayer that the governor should not suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, where a victim falls in love with his captor. In all, despite these, we pity the governor and wish him well.
“Furthermore, the Rivers situation is a testament to the dysfunctional nature of our democracy, where individuals are bigger and stronger than institutions and can use the apparatus of the Federal Government to obfuscate political life out of their opponents and bring them to their knees.”
The PDP Publicity Secretary stated that Nigeria’s democracy is in danger, stressing that the ruling party’s push toward a one-party system and shrinking of the political space pose a serious threat.
He continued, “Democracy is terribly threatened by acts of this kind, and all well-meaning people should unify in condemning this progressive decline of democratic norms.
“Finally, we reiterate to Nigerians and the global community that with the unrelenting disposition of the ruling party towards the attainment of a one-party state and the constriction of the political space, democracy is under severe attack in Nigeria. Everyone must rise together to oppose this ignoble trip toward electoral authoritarianism.”
![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")
