Some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have pointedly told the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, that he cannot dismantle the party that was established before he joined politics.
Wike, a former governor of Rivers State while speaking at the PDP secretariat in Port Harcourt, penultimate Saturday, warned PDP governors to stay clear of the party’s affairs in the State and threatened to “put fire in their states”, if they make any further move.
Wike’s threat followed the meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum in Jalingo, the Taraba state capital during which the governors called on the Party to give recognition to Governor Siminalayi Fubara as the leader of the Party in the state.
Commenting on the development, the Osun State chapter of the PDP tasked Wike to face his duty as a minister and stop “threatening” those in support of Governor Fubara.
The State Director of Media and Publicity, Oladele Olabamiji, described Wike’s statement as reckless and irresponsible, stressing that Governor Fubara is not an outcast but, a PDP governor.
Olabamiji said; “On that premise, it is out of place for Wike to threaten PDP governors for supporting one of their own. At the PDP Governors Forum, they can offer help to one of them that needs it. Attacking them for doing that is out of place.
“We urge PDP governors to protect one of their own. Wike is not the President of Nigeria. He has a job in Abuja. He should face it and stop handing down threat.
“He can do it sometimes and get away with it. But, in our case here, he cannot get away with such a reckless statement,” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Sydney Gbara, Commissioner for Environment in Rivers State, said it was high time for security agencies to invite Wike for questioning following his unguarded utterances.
Gbara, who was Rivers State Publicity Secretary, noted that such statements were not expected from a party leader like Wike, stressing that issuing threats to 13 governors was tantamount to causing crisis in the country.
According to Gbara; “So, threatening that you are going to cause crisis in 13 states out of the 36 states in Nigeria means planning to cause crisis in the entire country. That is what it means, security-wise”.
Gbara note that Wike was merely giving false hope to his supporters, especially the defected lawmakers of the state House of Assembly, who have lost their seats.
He further said; “I only see it as a message of hope to his already disgruntled supporters who he has for over the time made several promises to on what will become of their fate in the state, which has never worked out.
“He promised the former Local Government chairmen that their tenures would be elongated by six months, but, today they are no longer in office and the State Assembly legislators who he advised to defect to the APC have lost their seats. So, it is just a message of hope so that it won’t look as if they have lost out completely.
“It will be good if the security agencies prove that they mean well for the country by stepping into such utterances and investigate anybody that has made such utterances because it is a direct affront on the security of Nigeria.
“When you threaten state governors and you vowed that they will never sleep in their states again and that they will never do governance again but will only face crisis, it’s a serious issue,” he said.
Commenting on the claim by Wike that he was in control of the PDP structures in Rivers State, Gbara said that the majority of the PDP members know where they belong and who their leader is, adding that Governor Fubara is completely in charge and not struggling any structure with anybody.
Gbara further said; “As for PDP, they already know who the leader is and they all know. We equally know that the congresses that have been held in Rivers State are all under litigation, of which at the appropriate time, the court of competent jurisdiction will take their decisions as to whether this exercises fit the legal term or not.
“For us, we don’t see it as an issue. Rivers people have moved with Governor Fubara and that is where we are. At the end, we know that he will carry the day. The structure of PDP will be given to the right person like it has always been in the state. This time around it will not be different, so we are not bothered at all,” he said.
Similarly, the Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi said that Wike’s utterances posed no threat to the Party that has been in existence for over 25 years and faced many severe challenges.
Abdullahi said; “Those were his entitled personal opinions at most. They don’t constitute threats to the PDP, which has survived even worse machinations 25 years down the road.
“No single individual has the capacity to terminate the life of this party, PDP,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has expressed the hope that the crisis rocking the party at the national level will be resolved soon.
Diri, who gave the assurance on Saturday during the PDP state congress in Yenagoa, said that leaders of the Party are working to resolve it.
According to Diri; “This party will not go down. No democracy without opposition. The PDP is the main opposition party and it will continue to play its role until it captures power again.”
