The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reacted to the defection of Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, describing his move to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as “a self-inflicted injury” and “an uneventful defection long in the making.”
In a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Ini Ememobong, the PDP said Governor Fubara’s decision validated the legal maxim volenti non fit injuria — “to one who is willing, no harm is done.”
According to the party, Nigerians who have followed the Rivers political crisis are aware that Fubara “voluntarily walked the path” that eventually led to his departure. The PDP insisted that the governor cannot accuse the party or any stakeholder of abandoning him, noting that civil society groups and citizens defended him until he “capitulated.”
The statement warned that the governor must avoid falling into “Stockholm Syndrome,” where a victim begins to emotionally align with his oppressor.
The PDP said the political crisis in Rivers State is further proof of a failing democratic culture in which individuals have become more powerful than institutions. The party accused the Federal Government and the ruling APC of weaponising state power to “crush opponents and force them to their knees.”
Calling the trend dangerous, the PDP urged Nigerians and the international community to note what it described as the APC’s “unrelenting push for a one-party state,” warning that Nigerian democracy is under “severe attack.”
The party encouraged citizens to resist what it termed a descent into electoral authoritarianism and the shrinking of political space, insisting that democracy can only survive when institutions are protected from partisan manipulation.
“We pity the Governor and wish him well,” the party concluded.
