Our Reporter, Abuja
Rivers State House of Assembly Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, has formally defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), alongside 15 other members of the House.
Recall that Nyesom Wike-backed Amaewhule along with 26 other lawmakers had earlier resigned from the PDP and joined the APC but had to backtrack when their membership of the Assembly was challenged in the court. The Supreme Court, however, ruled that there was no evidence of their defection.
But on Friday Amaewhule announced the move to defect to APC during plenary at the Assembly complex, marking a major political shift in the state legislature.
Justifying the defection, the Speaker said the lawmakers were compelled to leave the PDP due to what he described as deep-seated division within the party. He noted that the internal crisis had made it untenable for them to continue under the PDP platform.
The political landscape in Rivers State has remained tense since March 2025, when President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in the state, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the House of Assembly. The suspension was lifted six months later, in September, but political instability has persisted.
The defection of the Speaker and 15 lawmakers is viewed by many as the precursor to the eventual defection of Governor Fubara after his rapprochement with his estranged godfather and FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike.
