—By Emeka Amaefula
RIVERS POLITICAL BLOC COLLAPSES: 17 PDP LAWMAKERS JOIN APC UNDER TONY OKOCHA
A sweeping political shift has hit the 32-member Rivers State House of Assembly as seventeen lawmakers formerly elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have officially defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Their mass departure follows intensified internal battles within the PDP at the national level, climaxing in the expulsion of former Rivers State Governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, by the faction led by former Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, SAN. The Rivers APC New Media Team, which announced the development on December 7, 2025, described the movement as a consolidation of political authority under Chief Tony Chidugam Okocha who now emerges as a central power figure for the defecting bloc.
Those who defected include Major Jack of Akuku-Toru 1, Opuende Lolo Isaiah of Akuku-Toru 2, Ofiks Kabangs Christopher of Andoni, Tekena Wellington Granville of Asari-Toru 1, Enemi Alabo George of Asari-Toru 2, Abbey Peter of Degema, Igwe Obey Aforji of Eleme, Chimezie Nwankwo of Etche 2, Dumle Maol of Gokana, Amaewhule Martin Chike of Obio/Akpor 1, Frankline U. Nwabochi of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni 1, Davids Anold Okobiriari of Ogu/Bolo, Somiari Stewart Linda of Okrika, Gerald Oforji of Oyigbo, Solomon Wami of Port Harcourt 1, Tonye Smart Adoki of Port Harcourt 2, and Azeru Opara of Port Harcourt 3. Their collective alignment with the APC has instantly redrawn the legislative configuration of Rivers State, leaving the PDP camp weakened both structurally and psychologically.
Political observers believe this wave of defection is the clearest indication yet that the intense power struggle between PDP national factions has reached a breaking point, leaving lawmakers once loyal to Wike with no political shelter within the party. With accusations, counter-suspensions, and leadership claims ripping through the PDP’s national organs, the seventeen lawmakers saw continuity and political relevance under the APC machinery that has, for months, positioned itself as a landing ground for dissatisfied PDP officials. The Rivers APC leadership under Chief Okocha has celebrated the development, calling it “a definitive realignment of progressive forces and a total collapse of old power monopolies.”
As the Rivers Assembly adjusts to its new partisan makeup, wider implications are expected to shape governance and legislative motion in the months ahead. Analysts affirm that the political destiny of the Ninth Assembly now hinges on how the APC bloc will navigate its newfound dominance—whether toward consensus, confrontation, or a complete reinvention of the state’s political hierarchy. What stands uncontested, however, is that the Rivers State power structure has been fundamentally reconfigured, ushering in a dramatic new chapter anchored on shifting loyalties and recalibrated influence under the APC banner.
——–Emeka Amaefula —–+234(0)8111813069—
