The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the defection of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as a “self-inflicted injury.”
Fubara announced his move on Tuesday during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt, stating that he “didn’t get any protection from the PDP.”
Reacting in a statement signed by National Publicity Secretary Ini Ememobong, the PDP said the governor voluntarily walked into the circumstances that led to his exit.
“Volenti non fit injuria (to one who is willing, no harm is done). Everyone who has followed the developments that culminated in this uneventful defection will recall that the governor willingly travelled the path that took him to this destination,” the party said.
The PDP added: “Having done so voluntarily, he cannot turn around and accuse our party, or any other person or group, of abandoning or not protecting him. We pray he does not develop Stockholm syndrome — where a victim falls in love with his captor. In all, despite these, we pity the Governor and wish him well.”
The party further argued that Fubara’s defection highlights the weakness of Nigeria’s democratic institutions, asserting that the APC is working to turn Nigeria into a one-party state.
“The Rivers situation is a testament to the dysfunctional nature of our democracy, where individuals are bigger and stronger than institutions and can use the apparatus of the Federal Government to obfuscate political life out of their opponents and bring them to their knees,” the statement said.
The PDP urged Nigerians and the international community to recognise that “with the unrelenting disposition of the ruling party towards the attainment of a one-party state, and the constriction of the political space, democracy is under severe attack in Nigeria.” The party concluded: “Everyone must rise together to oppose this ignoble trip toward electoral authoritarianism.”
