Why We Could Not Help Fubara Before He Eventually Defected to APC, PDP Explains

• Bauchi gov refutes plan to dump PDP for PRP

•Defectors now ‘onlookers’ in APC, says Ogun chair

Chuks Okocha in Abuja, Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi and James Sowole in Abeokuta

The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),yesterday, explained why the party did not defend the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara during the days of his travails before he finally defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the governor was culpable in the fate that befell him.

Similarly, the Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Abdukadir Mohammed, has refuted alleged plans to defect to the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), describing it as false, malicious and unfounded.

In. another development, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Hon. Abayomi Tella,has said politicians, who dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC), have become “onlookers” in the ruling party.

One of the reasons the reasons Fubara gave for his defection was that the PDP abandoned him when he was in trouble with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

However, the new National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Ini Ememobong, said, “I spoke to some governors, especially Governor Bala, asking what happened.

“Governor Bala said, ‘Look, we were ready and we have deployed at some points, but the governor would either remain incommunicado or will say ‘don’t worry, we would handle it’. So, volenti non fit injuria—you cannot do harm to a consenting person.

‘’So while he has our sympathies, the attempt to shift blame is what we are very angry with. There’s no need shifting the blame. When you get into a voluntary agreement… till today he has not said what agreement he got into.

‘’He has not really told Rivers people or us on camera or confided in anyone what the real issues are. So while we sympathise with him —and we know that this is a situation where Stockholm syndrome has happened, where a captive has fallen in love with the captor — we frown against that conscious amnesia where he picks and chooses where the blame should be. He knows where the origin of his problem is.’’

On the difference between the defection of the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke and Fubara, he said, “No, we’re not giving excuses. We’re saying that both are circumstantial, and even the victims of the circumstances themselves had a role to play in the conflict that eventually engulfed them. So,we’re not making excuses.

‘’But in the case of Fubara, you do know that Fubara voluntarily became a candidate of the party. And you do know that the people who brought him have always said that there were agreements. We’re talking about agreement. Till today he hasn’t said what the agreement was, but his political party stood by him.

“The point of our anger is really when he mentioned that he wasn’t secure in the platform. We all have great sympathies for Fubara even as a person.

“Before becoming a Publicity Secretary, I had sympathies for him — a calm, gentle person who is pushed to the wall, who has no other direction to move than in the opposite direction.

“But to attempt to lay blame other than where blame ought to be… Because if you backtrack and look at the origin of the crisis, you know that the origin is between two people.

‘’You remember that people rose up at the beginning of this crisis and began to speak for him. After a while, he came out and said, ‘No, no, don’t worry, it’s a father-son matter’. And after a while, a state of emergency was declared. People started advocating, and he went silent,’’ Ini Ememobong explained.

Mohammed Refutes Plans to Dump PDP

Bauchi State Governor, Senator Bala Mohammed, has refuted alleged plans to defect to the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), describing it as false, malicious and unfounded.

This was contained in a press statement titled: “Re: False Claims on Governor Bala Mohammed’s Alleged Plan to Defect to Peoples Redemption Party (PRP)”, by his Media Aide, Comrade Mukhtar Gidado.

“Our attention has been drawn to a mischievous statement credited to the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), in Bauchi State, alleging that Governor Bala Mohammed is not welcome to join the party.

“Ordinarily, such a baseless remark would have been dismissed as the ramblings of an attention-seeker desperate for relevance. However, experience has shown that silence in the face of falsehood can be misconstrued as acquiescence. Hence, this rejoinder.

“To begin with, the statement attributed to the PRP State Secretary is not only false but a figment of the author’s imagination. We state unequivocally that at no time has Governor Bala Mohammed contemplated leaving the PDP, let alone initiating any move to defect to another party or making overtures to the PRP in Bauchi State.

”On the contrary, it is common knowledge that Governor Mohammed has been at the forefront of rescuing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), from the contrived crises engineered by anti-democratic forces bent on turning Nigeria into a one-party dictatorship.

“Governor Mohammed’s leadership credentials require no further validation. They have been acknowledged both within and beyond Bauchi State, underscored by his decisive victories over the PRP in two fiercely contested elections.

”Today, Bauchi State stands as a regional force in Nigeria testimony to a government that prioritises governance over grandstanding, people over power, and empowerment and inclusion over the indulgence of a few at the expense of the majority.

”It is within this noble vision of empowerment and emancipation that the restructuring of traditional institutions and the devolution of powers must be understood.

“That the PRP fails to appreciate the benefits of such bold reforms only exposes the hollowness of a party progressive in name but retrogressive in character.

“By issuing this unfortunate statement, if indeed sanctioned by its leadership, the PRP has revealed its true colours. The good people of Bauchi State are reminded that all that glitters is not gold.

“More importantly, they are urged to remain vigilant, ensuring that the hard-won gains of recent years in empowerment, infrastructure, rural development, urban renewal, and tourism are not entrusted to bellyaching ideologues whose stock-in-trade is habitual criticism of every government.

“Let it be said clearly: despite the treachery faced by the PDP and the constraints of time, nothing, absolutely nothing, will distract Governor Bala Mohammed from his unwavering commitment to the development of Bauchi State.

”Finally, it must be placed on record that, in line with his inalienable right to freely associate in pursuit of a stable and prosperous polity, Governor Mohammed, like any citizen, reserves the right to determine his future political alignments.

“Should that time ever arise, such a decision will not be dictated by the dubious machinations of political turncoats who thrive on falsehood and malice.”

Tella: PDP Defectors Now APC ‘Onlookers’

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Hon. Abayomi Tella, has said politicians, who dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress (APC) have become “onlookers” in the ruling party.

Tella, who disclosed this in an interview with journalists, yesterday, said many PDP members who joined APC were being sidelined in the ruling party because they were not part of the party’s foundation and were absent when members were working to secure victories.

The immediate past chairman of PDP in the state, Hon. Sikirulai Ogundele, the former deputy governorship candidate of PDP in 2023 and others had dumped the party for the ruling APC in July 2025.

But speaking with journalists, Tella argued that the APC might not fully integrate the defectors because they were never part of the party’s struggle to power, hence, they were often sidelined and would remain onlookers in the ruling party.

“It is no longer enviable for a politician to cross from PDP to APC because most of our members who have gone there (APC) have become onlookers. They were not part of their system from day one.

“When members of the party were working for their victory,the defectors were not there, so they will still be treated as outsiders,”

Tella, however, said the party was open to welcoming either Governor Dapo Abiodun or the Senator representing Ogun East, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, back to the fold.

He said the PDP would work to gain from the rift between Abiodun and Daniel, should either of the two fail to secure the ticket and need a platform to run.