The former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mark Jacob, has said he would not be surprised if the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, defects to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) after his resintatement.
Jacob made the comment during an appearance on The Morning Brief on Channels Television on Friday. His remarks come in the wake of a meeting held late Thursday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where President Bola Tinubu met with Governor Fubara, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, and suspended members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Reacting to the high-level talks, Jacob pointed to the recent wave of defections to the APC and suggested that Fubara could be swayed to switch parties if it benefits him politically.
“If they dangle a carrot to Siminalayi and ask him to join the APC to retain his position, I won’t be surprised if he accepts. It’s all about self-interest ‘what’s in it for me?’” Jacob remarked.
The meeting at the Villa comes nearly three months after President Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the state assembly amid a protracted political crisis in Rivers State. The rift, believed to stem from a struggle for political dominance between Wike and his former protégé Fubara, had plunged the oil-rich state into turmoil.
While the latest meeting has been interpreted by some as a step toward reconciliation, Jacob criticized the suspension of elected officials, describing it as undemocratic and a dangerous precedent.
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