The Action Peoples Party has called on Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to seek re-election in 2027 on the basis of its platform, despite saying that the governor neither owns nor is a member of the party.
This was stated by the state APP chairman, Sunny Wokekoro, when the former state party executive under Kenneth Atata paid him a solidarity visit on Saturday at the party secretariat in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
Wokekoro said the party would make a statement in the October 5 local government elections and said it was determined to change the political line in the state.
While pointing out that he used to be a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, he said that the PDP was no longer a viable option for politicians who were doing well with the state or the country, pointing out that the country’s largest opposition party had lost its relevance in the bigger picture.
Wokekoro said: “I was a founding member of the PDP. I started as the G-34 coordinator in Port Harcourt. I was a founding member of this party. Given the recent events in the country with regard to the leadership of the party, this party (PDP) should not accept or retain any moral persons. All persons of integrity should have left this party by now.
“I have to correct one impression in this assembly: the impression that Governor Siminalayi Fubara is a member of this party or that he owns this party. This party has existed since 2017. It exists before any of us who have just joined it.”
The state chairman stressed that “nobody can claim to own this party. And the truth remains that Siminalayi Fubara, as I speak to you today, is not a member of our party. However, a good party administrator looks for the best candidates for elective offices. That is what we will do, not just me, but all of us will do that,” adding that “we will convince our governor, if possible, when he is re-elected, to choose APP as his platform for that re-election.”
Wokekoro added that not only Fubara was invited to join the APP but also other well-meaning members of the State and National Assemblies.
He urged the party supporters to continue to work hard to take the party to new heights in the state and the country as a whole.
In his address, APP National Chairman, Uchenna Nnadi, commended Wokekoro for his role in bringing the party to limelight in the state, noting: “I want to commend the new leadership of Action Peoples Party in Rivers State under the leadership of the able and amiable Chairman, Sunny Wokekoro. Within a very short time, you have made us proud and within a very short time, our party will be recognized nationwide.”
Our correspondent reports that there was widespread speculation that Fubara might defect to APP after his predecessor and political godfather and current Minister of the National Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, allegedly hijacked the PDP.
Speculations grew louder when a section of the APP Secretariat along Port Harcourt’s GRA axis was bombed on Monday, August 12, 2023, smashing doors, windows and other properties.
However, when Fubara received the PDP Board of Trustees headed by Adolphus Wabara at the Government House in Port Harcourt, he refuted speculations about his defection and announced his membership of the PDP.
