Siminalayi Fubara has dismissed growing speculation that he had defected from the ruling All Progressives Congress to the Nigeria Democratic Congress, insisting that he remains committed to the party despite mounting tensions over the Rivers State House of Assembly primaries.
The rumours emerged after several aspirants believed to be loyal to the governor were reportedly disqualified by the APC screening committee overseeing the assembly elections, fuelling claims of widening cracks within the party’s Rivers chapter.
Breaking his silence during an inspection tour of the newly completed general hospital and remodelled Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Rumuigbo, Obiakpor Local Government Area, Fubara accused sections of the media of distorting developments within the party for political effect.
“I am a member of the APC, and nothing has changed,” the governor said on Wednesday.
“People should stop using whatever situation they pick up from social media or their own interpretation of any situation to present me wrongly.
“I’ve not gone anywhere; I’m still a member of the APC, and I remain a member. Whatever happens, what is important is supporting the overall interest of the party.”
The governor used the visit to highlight what he described as critical interventions in Rivers State’s healthcare sector, arguing that the projects were conceived to address longstanding deficiencies in medical access and mental health infrastructure.
According to Fubara, the decision to establish a general hospital within the Neuropsychiatric Hospital complex followed an earlier inspection that exposed wider healthcare gaps in the area.
He said residents of surrounding communities, including Rumuola and Rumuolumeni, previously depended largely on the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital for medical care despite the distance involved.
“Today, to the glory of God, we can see that the project is already completed. It is not 95 per cent complete, it is a hundred per cent completion,” he said.
Meanwhile, uncertainty continues to hang over the APC House of Assembly screening process, with aspirants awaiting the outcome of appeals submitted after last weekend’s controversial exercise.
The APC Assembly Screening Appeal Committee, chaired by Abdul Mahmud, concluded its two-day sitting on Wednesday evening after reviewing petitions from aggrieved aspirants.
Mahmud praised aspirants for what he described as their peaceful conduct throughout the proceedings, although the total number of petitions submitted remained unclear. By Tuesday, the committee said it had already received at least 19 petitions.
At the APC secretariat along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, party officials confirmed that the panel had completed its work and would release its findings later.
One of the aspirants who appeared before the panel, Gogo Isaiah, said he had submitted all requested documents and was now awaiting the committee’s verdict.
The appeal process, however, has been overshadowed by allegations of impropriety and concerns over attempts to influence panel members.
Mahmud publicly rebuked aspirants for sending congratulatory messages and personal salutations to members of the committee, warning that such behaviour could create the appearance of undue influence.
He singled out Tonye Tom-George, one of the disqualified aspirants previously accused by the screening committee of attempting to bribe panel members during the screening exercise — an allegation the aspirant has denied while demanding proof.
Speaking to journalists in Port Harcourt, Mahmud compared the conduct to litigants privately contacting judges presiding over their cases.
“Those things are not necessary,” he said.
“I think we should discourage Nigerians from some of these things.”
