Tinubu Secures Fubara’s Defection to APC Amid Allegations of Political Coercion and Institutional Intimidation
New revelations have emerged indicating that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has successfully pressured Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, into joining the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) after enduring months of relentless political intimidation, strategic isolation, and institutional coercion, according to SaharaReporters.
According to sources, this dramatic political shift is the culmination of a deliberate and well-coordinated campaign by the APC-led Federal Government aimed at dismantling opposition strongholds in preparation for the 2027 general elections.
Multiple insider accounts suggest that the overarching objective of this campaign has been to consolidate federal power, neutralize potential political adversaries, and ensure that President Tinubu encounters minimal resistance in his bid for re-election. The pressure directed at Governor Fubara is described by observers as “unprecedented and deeply troubling,” setting a dangerous precedent in the nation’s democratic history.
SaharaReporters Sources allege that a wide range of federal institutions—including the judiciary, security agencies, and the National Assembly—were mobilized to systematically undermine Governor Fubara’s authority.
Through legal maneuverings, orchestrated legislative threats, and political isolation, the governor was gradually cornered into a position where defection became his only viable path to political survival.
At the heart of this political storm stands the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who once served as Fubara’s political mentor. Their relationship, however, deteriorated soon after Fubara assumed office and sought to assert independence from his predecessor’s influence.
With the full support of the Presidency, Wike is reported to have led a coordinated offensive against the governor—leveraging loyalists in the state legislature, initiating judicial actions, and engineering repeated threats of impeachment.
“President Tinubu was determined to bring Rivers State under his direct political control by any means necessary,” one well-placed source disclosed. “There was a real fear within the Presidency about 2027.
Their internal polling and political assessments suggested a growing wave of public dissatisfaction driven by economic hardship, insecurity, and lack of public trust in federal leadership. Their solution was to systematically break the opposition and force key states into alignment.”
This explains, political analysts argue, the Federal Government’s apparent indifference to widespread criticism from prominent Nigerians, civil society organizations, and pro-democracy groups who condemned what they viewed as an orchestrated political siege on the Rivers State governor.
The administration’s continued silence in the face of such widespread concern has fueled further suspicion about its role in what critics have termed a dangerous erosion of democratic norms.
The turning point in this saga reportedly occurred during the controversial “2025 London Peace Accord”—a confidential high-level meeting between President Tinubu and Governor Fubara, held abroad under a cloak of secrecy.
It was during this meeting, according to multiple sources, that Fubara ultimately agreed to defect to the APC in exchange for assurances of political protection and the preservation of his governorship.
“This wasn’t a case of ideological alignment or party loyalty,” one insider familiar with the negotiations revealed. “It was about survival. Governor Fubara was faced with overwhelming institutional pressure and calculated political sabotage. Defection became the only option that allowed him to remain in office.”
The governor’s defection marks a significant realignment in Nigeria’s political landscape, particularly in the oil-rich South-South region, and serves as a warning of what may come as the 2027 election approaches.
It also raises critical questions about the state of Nigeria’s federal democracy, the autonomy of state governments, and the extent to which federal power may be deployed to suppress dissent and enforce political loyalty.
Observers warn that unless these trends are addressed, Nigeria risks further democratic backsliding, where elections are no longer fair contests of ideas, but outcomes predetermined by the consolidation of power through fear, coercion, and institutional overreach.
(SaharaReporters)