The factional Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, Dr. Robinson Ewoh, has explained why his group has aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying the move is aimed at supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid.
Ewoh accused Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, of misleading the PDP by claiming he could wrest political control of the state from Wike, only to later abandon the party midway into his tenure.
Speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt on Thursday, Ewoh alleged that rather than pursue reconciliation after the lifting of emergency rule in the state, the governor resorted to boasting that President Tinubu would compel members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to pass the budget and force Wike to back his re-election.
He called on Governor Fubara to publicly disclose the terms of the peace agreement allegedly brokered by President Tinubu before the emergency rule was lifted.
“The mandate Governor Fubara holds was given to him by the people of Rivers State. His actions affect everyone, and he owes the people a full disclosure of the agreements reached in the peace deal brokered by the President,” Ewoh said.
Tracing the origin of the political crisis in the state, Ewoh recalled that Governor Fubara, who was elected for a four-year term, fell out with members of the Rivers State House of Assembly within his first year in office. He said the disagreement escalated into the bombing of the Assembly complex, prompting President Tinubu’s intervention and the brokering of an initial peace agreement.
According to him, the collapse of that agreement plunged the state into prolonged political instability, culminating in the declaration of a state of emergency in March 2025.
“During this period, many of us were misled into believing the governor could wrest control from Wike. We were deceived by propaganda instead of being told the truth,” Ewoh alleged.
He said a second peace agreement was reached during the emergency rule but was neither documented nor disclosed to the people of Rivers State. He added that the failure of the agreement eventually led to Governor Fubara’s defection from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in December 2025.
Ewoh also said the PDP had challenged the declaration of the emergency rule at the Supreme Court to protect its mandate, only for the governor to later defect to the APC with that same mandate.
He criticised Governor Fubara’s conduct during the PDP National Convention held in Ibadan in November 2025, noting that although the governor was still a PDP member at the time and supervised preparations for the convention, he failed to attend.
“At the Ibadan convention, the Rivers State Executive Committee was dissolved. Asking party members to attend a convention he knew he would not attend amounts to double standards,” he said.
On the Rivers State PDP Caretaker Committee, Ewoh said it was validly constituted by the party’s National Working Committee in December 2025 following the dissolution of the state executive.
He said the committee was nominated by prominent party leaders, including former PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Austin Opara; former Minister, Abiye Sekibo; former Governor, Celestine Omehia; and former Senator, Lee Maeba.
Ewoh also referenced Wike’s recent “thank you” visits to the 23 local government areas of the state, during which the FCT Minister reportedly accused Governor Fubara of breaching agreements reached before the lifting of the emergency rule.
According to him, the agreements allegedly included conditions that the governor would not seek a second term and would make certain changes in his administration, which Wike claimed were not honoured.
While noting that the issue of a second term is now a matter for Governor Fubara and his new party, the APC, Ewoh insisted that Rivers people deserve full disclosure of all agreements reached in the peace process.
“These issues affect our collective interest and the peaceful governance of Rivers State. The people must be allowed to make informed decisions ahead of the 2027 general elections,” he said.
He urged Governor Fubara to address Rivers people, Nigerians and the international community on the full details of the peace agreements brokered by President Tinubu.
