The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has sharply criticized Rivers State House of Assembly members who recently defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), calling them “political puppets” undermining democratic progress.
In a statement by National Publicity Secretary Ini Ememobong, the PDP characterized the defection as essentially meaningless, arguing the lawmakers were already acting under APC influence. The party noted this wasn’t the first time these assembly members had announced a defection, having previously recanted an earlier switch.
On Friday, Speaker Martin Amaewhule led 16 other lawmakers in crossing over to the APC during a plenary session. The defectors cited the ongoing crisis within the PDP as their primary motivation. With this move, the APC now controls 17 of the 27 seats in the Rivers Assembly, while the remaining 10 PDP members appointed a new Minority Leader.
The PDP has vowed to pursue legal measures to reclaim what it describes as mandates won under its platform. The party stated it will invoke constitutional provisions to recover seats it believes were improperly transferred to another party.
This defection occurs amid a prolonged political crisis in Rivers State involving Governor Siminalayi Fubara and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. The conflict previously escalated to the point where President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in March, suspending state officials and appointing an administrator. That emergency rule ended in September, allowing the reinstatement of elected officials.
The same group of lawmakers had previously announced a defection in December 2023 during the height of the Fubara-Wike dispute, though they later denied formally switching parties in court proceedings to avoid losing their seats.
