In a dramatic escalation of a long-running power struggle, Speaker Martin Amaewhule on Friday confirmed that he and 16 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Amaewhule announced the collective decision during plenary, telling colleagues that he had notified his ward chairman of his departure from the PDP and had formally aligned himself with the ruling party at federal level.
He said the move was driven by what the group described as an irreconcilable division within the PDP and framed the switch as necessary to support the president and to position the state to benefit from the federal initiatives.
The defections include Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol and several lawmakers widely regarded as loyal to former governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The mass realignment is likely to alter the balance of power in Rivers State and to intensify the already bitter relationship between the legislature and the governor.
The decision is the culmination of a protracted and messy dispute that erupted soon after Governor Siminalayi Fubara succeeded Wike in May 2023. Though Fubara had been seen initially as Wike’s anointed successor, relations between the two men deteriorated rapidly as each sought to consolidate influence over appointments and state structures.
The conflict became overt in October 2023 when a bloc of lawmakers loyal to Wike moved to impeach Governor Fubara. The attempt set off confrontations that spilled into public view: security officers used teargas at the Assembly complex during a turbulent episode in which the governor’s presence at the complex became a flashpoint.
By December 2023, tensions deepened when a group of 27 pro-Wike legislators declared for the APC. That earlier mass defection, which the governor’s camp disputed, declaring the seats vacant, precipitated a cascade of legal challenges and a period in which the House effectively split into rival camps.
For a time there were parallel sittings and competing presiding officers. Amaewhule emerged as leader of the faction aligned with Wike, while Edison Ehie at one point represented the governor’s side; Ehie subsequently resigned from the Assembly and was appointed Chief of Staff to Governor Fubara.
The dual-leadership arrangement spawned conflicting judgments from different courts as each faction sought judicial endorsement, leaving the Assembly’s status and decisions mired in legal uncertainty.
The national fortunes of the PDP have further complicated matters. Prolonged disagreements at the party’s centre, including open antagonism between Wike and the party leadership, culminated late in 2025 with the expulsion of Wike and several close associates for alleged anti-party conduct.
That development, party critics say, exposed Wike’s loyalists in Rivers to political marginalisation within the PDP and provided a rationale for switching to the APC.
The legal consequences of the defections are not straightforward. Section 109 of the 1999 Constitution provides that a legislator who abandons the platform on which they were elected risks forfeiting their seat unless there is a clearly established division within the party.
Past rulings in Rivers have been inconsistent, and lawyers predict fresh litigation as opponents test whether the new defections comply with constitutional exceptions.
At the time of filing this report neither the Rivers State Government nor the national leadership of the PDP had issued an official response to Friday’s announcement.
