The vice chairman (central) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Hakeem Olalemi, says the party will not miss Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers, following his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mr Olalemi told journalists on Wednesday in Lagos that Mr Fubara’s decision to leave the PDP was “purely personal” and driven by his quest for political protection.

“Everybody has the right to belong to where he or she wants. I believe Governor Fubara’s defection is his personal decision,” said the vice chairman.

“He is looking for protection, and he believes it is President Bola Tinubu who can give him the protection he seeks.”

The PDP chieftain dismissed claims that Mr Fubara’s move was linked to internal party issues, insisting that the situation in Rivers predated the challenges facing the PDP at the national level.

“We cannot attach his defection to the crisis within the PDP,” he said. “It is not a PDP crisis. Fubara’s crisis is a special crisis. He had been in a political war long before our issues in the PDP,” he said.

Mr Olalemi said the problem in PDP persists owing to what he called the refusal of some individuals to follow due process and the party’s constitution.

“Some people don’t want to follow the law. They want to do things the way they think they should be done, and that’s why we are having problems in the PDP.

“If we follow the party constitution and the constitution of Nigeria to the letter, we shouldn’t be having these issues. Those who want shortcuts to success are the ones dragging the PDP backwards,” he added.

He expressed confidence that the PDP would soon stabilise and return to the path of progress.

On whether the party would miss Mr Fubara, Mr Olalemi said the governor had not been active in party affairs and therefore would not be missed.

“For the past two years, have you seen him in PDP activities? No. So what exactly are you going to miss?

“Though it is not good for any party to lose members, the truth is that Fubara has not contributed meaningfully to the growth of the PDP since he became governor,” Mr Olalemi said.

Olalemi added that the party wished Fubara well in his new political journey.

NAN reports that Fubara announced his decision to dump PDP for APC at a stakeholders meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

Fubara said he decided to leave the PDP to support Tinubu, adding that he would have become a former governor without Tinubu’s support. (NAN)