Rivers: APC welcomes pro-Wike lawmakers, Say its expects more defectors

The All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has declared that it is willing to accept defectors from Peoples Democratic Party in the state, describing the defection of the 27 members of the State House of Assembly as a positive step.

Spokesperson for the State APC Caretaker Committee, Chibuike Ikenga, stated this while speaking to our correspondent in Port Harcourt on Monday.

He said with the number of lawmakers now in the APC and others to follow, the state can be effectively governed.

Ikenga stated, “In an earlier interview, I did mention that our doors are open to welcoming anybody who is willing to be part of us.

“We are happy about this (lawmakers defection), and we expect that others will join so that we can swell the ranks of the APC and run the state properly.  The defection of the lawmakers is a welcome development.”

According to Gistlover, 27 members of the state’s ruling PDP, the PDP, defected to the APC on Monday, adding a new twist to the conflict roiling the State House of Assembly.

The lawmakers blamed their defection to the APC primarily on internal PDP strife.

Legislators who support Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, are reportedly the ones impacted.

Approximately at eight in the morning on Monday, the legislators convened in plenary to make the choice.

Seated at the entrance of the Assembly complex on Moscow Road in Port Harcourt, they were subject to strict security measures.

Siminalayi Fubara, the governor of Rivers State, has called an emergency executive council meeting in the interim.

The current gathering is anticipated to cover the 27 State House of Assembly members that defected from the PDP to the APC.

This is the fifth executive council meeting that the governor is presiding over.

At its fourth meeting, the executive council adopted four draft bills on October 27, 2023.