Wike’s Deputy Dumps PDP, Defects to APC

By Adesina Soyooye

Dr Ipalibo Banigo, the Senator representing Rivers West, has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and defected to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Senator Banigo, a medical doctor-turned politician, was a two- term Deputy Governor of Rivers State under then Governor Nyesom Wike who is now the Minister for the Federal Capital Territory under an APC Government.

Senator Banigo announced her resignation from the PDP during Plenary on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.

She said she quit the PDP so as to align with her State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara,  and President Bola Tinubu’s Government, as well as support all efforts geared towards the development of Rivers State.

In her resignation letter read on the floor of the Senate by Senate President, Godswill Akpabio,  she said she finally dumped the PDP after an extensive consultation with her political associates and constituents.

Political watchers say her resignation from the PDP was no surprise given that Wike is an unrepentant supporter of the President and, considering the crisis in PDP which has no end.

It is expected that all the Rivers State National Assembly members are likely to follow same path.

Recall that the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, all loyal to Wike had defected from the PDP to the APC. Governor Fubara followed a couple of weeks later.

Ironically, Wike still claims to be a PDP Member but has strongly pledged to support no other Presidential candidate but APC’s President Bola Tinubu in 2027.

In his Rivers State, Wike is the political leader of both the PDP and the APC and insists that there is neither PDP nor APC in the State but what he calls a Rainbow Coalition.