The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has confirmed Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the leader of the party in Rivers State, declaring that the APC recognizes
serving governors as party leaders in their respective states.
Yilwatda also said the party would support Fubara’s second-term ambition if he emerges through the APC’s primary process, even as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, warned that his own political career would suffer irreparable damage should the governor secure another term in office.
Speaking during a television interview at the weekend, Yilwatda explained that it is the long-standing practice of the APC to accord leadership of the party in a state to the sitting governor, while stressing the need for inclusiveness and collaboration with other stakeholders.
“Governor Fubara is the leader of the APC in Rivers State, but he would need to coordinate with every other person in the state,” Yilwatda said. “In APC, we give governors that privilege, but we also ask them to ensure inclusion — to coordinate and carry everyone along.”
The APC chairman’s position comes amid renewed political tension between Fubara and Wike over control and influence in Rivers State following the governor’s recent defection to the ruling party.
In December, after formally joining the APC, Fubara declared himself the party’s leader in the state after being issued a membership card bearing the number 001. Wike, however, dismissed the claim, arguing that such a status applied only at the ward level and not across the state.
“There is nothing like ‘001’ in party politics,” Wike said in a veiled response earlier in the week. “You register in your ward. Being the first to register does not automatically make you the leader of the party.”
However, Yilwatda countered that the APC would engage Governor Fubara, not Wike, on party matters in Rivers State, noting that the FCT minister remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“If we are discussing elections, we will not be discussing with Nyesom Wike. He is not a member of our party,” Yilwatda said. “We will be discussing with Siminalayi Fubara because he is a member of the All Progressives Congress right now.”
He also dismissed suggestions that Wike still wields influence within the APC in Rivers State, insisting that his focus as national chairman is on party members.
On the question of a second term for Fubara, Yilwatda said the governor would have to contest the APC primaries like any other aspirant, citing the party’s experience in Ekiti State, where a sitting governor went through the primary process before emerging as a candidate.
Meanwhile, Wike has openly opposed the prospect of Fubara securing a second term. Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting in Okrika Local Government Area on Saturday, the FCT minister said allowing Fubara another term would amount to a grave political error.
“We have made a
decision as far as Tinubu is concerned. The other one — no way,” Wike said. “Because if we make another buyer mistake, then we will go and bury ourselves politically. I will not allow myself to be buried. I will not allow that mistake again.”
He added that a firm decision had already been taken ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Wike has intensified his criticism of Fubara since the governor defected to the APC last month, accusing him of breaching the terms of a peace agreement that preceded the lifting of emergency rule in Rivers State and his subsequent return to office.
Earlier, the former Rivers governor said what he described as a “leadership mistake” in the state would be corrected in 2027, promising to reveal details of the agreement that restored Fubara to power at the appropriate time.
