Former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has accused his successor, Siminalayi Fubara, of backing the Action Peoples Party (APP) in the recently concluded local government elections. In the election, APP secured 22 out of 23 chairmanship positions, and days later, Governor Fubara swore in the new chairpersons. Bala Mohammed, the Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum and Governor of Bauchi State, was also present at the ceremony.

Although Fubara is a member of the PDP, he had earlier stated that he was the "greatest loser" because his party did not participate in the election.

However, Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), claims that Fubara was behind the APP's participation in the election. He contrasted this with his own record, referring to criticism he faced for supporting President Bola Tinubu of the All-Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election.

"People say, ‘Discipline Wike; he did anti-party’. I did not do anti-party; I stood for equity, fairness, and justice,” Wike said. “But now, the governor [Fubara] is the one who sponsored the APP, and the Chairman of the [PDP] Governors' Forum was at the swearing-in.