Elder statesman and leader of the Ijaw nation, Edwin Clark, has accused the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Umar Ganduje, and the acting chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amb. Umar Damagum, of colluding with former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, to sabotage the elected government and Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.
In an open letter to the duo, Clark urged the other executive members to call Wike to order.
“As a patriotic old statesman, I strongly believe that I should address this letter to you to call to order FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, because he is dancing naked in the open market in the politics of madness in Rivers State with one leg each in the two parties,” Clark wrote.
“I know both of you are fully aware and involved in the political crisis in Rivers State, which is caused by Wike who is controlling the two parties in Rivers State, particularly the PDP.”
He advised both chairmen to withdraw from the “madness of politics” in Rivers State to avoid the dangerous crisis facing one of the most important states producing the resources used to sustain the economy of the country.
“I hope you do not forget that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the deep seaport of Onne are very well established in Rivers State. How can the Federal Government and the two main political parties allow an individual to disrupt and cause confusion, harassing the democratically elected Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, under the guise that he alone, and not the people of Rivers State, made Fubara Governor?” Clark asked.
According to him, the support given to Nyesom Wike by both party chairmen has made him courageous enough to intimidate and anger the Rivers State Governor and government, which is seen as an attempt to overthrow the duly elected governor, a criminal act.
Finally, Clark appealed to the chairmen, in the interest of peace and stability in Nigeria, to disassociate themselves from Wike’s diabolical and mischievous plan to bring down the government of his successor, Governor Fubara.
“I strongly advise both of you to retrace your steps and take charge of your political parties in Rivers State instead of leaving them to Wike, who is neither PDP nor APC.”
“Nyesom Wike aggressively boasted that nobody can remove the member representing Ogu-Bolo Constituency. One is therefore tempted to consider what this dangerous, diabolical, and mischievous politician can do to breach the constitution and cause a breakdown in law and order in the country. He is not in a position to amend Section 109 (1g) of the constitution and he is not in a position to undermine the Supreme Court judgement which has now been firmly accepted as precedent, which binds all Courts in Nigeria.
“Listening to Wike, who is a self-imposed leader of the PDP and the champion of madness in Rivers politics, it is clear he is also controlling the ruling party APC by appointing a caretaker committee under the former Chief of Staff to Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Tony Okocha, while he is not the legitimate chairman of APC in Rivers State.
“The legitimate Chairman, Emeka Beke, was suspended and replaced with Chief Tony Okocha, because of his close relationship with the Leader of APC in the state, Rt Hon Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. Chief Tonye Cole, the APC gubernatorial candidate in Rivers State, also belongs to the elected executives.
“Nyesom Wike, in order to impress the Presidency and APC in Abuja, decided to create the Chief Tony Okocha-led caretaker committee with which he now deals with the APC in Rivers State with the approval of the National Chairman of APC. One may be tempted to ask the National Chairman of APC why he chose to deal with a caretaker committee which Wike had earlier presented to him in the APC secretariat in Abuja before constituting it as a caretaker committee. Curiously, you now deal with a caretaker committee instead of the elected chairman. I hope you are aware of the court action filed against you and APC by the elected chairman of APC in Rivers State, Emeka Beke.
“The old APC members by law are the APC leaders because they were never removed before the illegal caretaker committee was imposed on Rivers State, who are loyalists to Wike. The legally constituted executives are in court, challenging the imposition of the caretaker committee on the Rivers State chapter of the APC by the NWC.
“By his statements, Wike made it very clear that he is at work in Rivers State to intimidate, harass, and disorganize the state in order to replace Governor Fubara with the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Martins Amaewhule, through impeachment. In his usual contradiction, he stated at a New Year banquet on Sunday, 7th January 2024, in his massive building standing tall on a large expanse of land, that this trouble between him and the elected governor started when the governor and others planned to remove Hon. Amaewhule as speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and Wike reacted by saying, ‘You can’t do that to an Obiakpo son.’
“Meanwhile, he had held meetings with his loyal 27 members of the House to impeach the newly elected governor of Rivers State. The House met at an ungodly hour at 7 am, and 23 members signed the notice of impeachment against the governor. As part of the arrangement, the 27 members again met at the same venue on 11th December 2023 and defected en masse to APC, singing APC songs and waving APC flags, and both of you were part of this wicked arrangement made by Wike.
“Indeed, that was the day the almighty Wike wanted to install an APC government in Rivers State to show President Bola Tinubu how influential he was in Rivers State.”
