AUSTIN OBOH
Nigeria’s major opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is certainly going through a testy time as the simmering feud between its National Working Committee and governors elected on its platform reaches its peak via the struggle for the control of the Rivers State chapter of the party where former governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, and his supporters are at loggerheads with the governor, Sim Fubara, and his supporters. On Thursday, Wike gained an upper hand in the dispute as the NWC endorsed the Rivers State congresses organized by his (Wike’s) faction of the party and postponed the National Executive Committee meeting, originally set for September 26 to October 24, 2024, which could possibly have overturned the decision.
The PDP NWC, led by acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, made this decision during a meeting at the party’s national headquarters, Wadata Plaza, in Abuja, on Thursday.
The NWC meeting had been delayed for the past three weeks amid rising tension within the party, especially between Wike and the PDP Governors’ Forum over the status of the Rivers State party congresses.
Wike and Fubara’s feud intensified on August 24 when PDP governors publicly backed Fubara and called for a review of the Rivers State Congresses while declaring Fubara’s role as the leader of the PDP in the state. This support for Fubara angered Wike who, on August 31, threatened to create chaos in the governors’ states if they did not refrain from interfering in Rivers State matters.
The PDP Governors’ Forum, in a communiqué read by its Chairman and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, had called for a review of the party congress outcome to restore Fubara’s leadership role in the state.
Speaking at the PDP secretariat in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Saturday, September 7, during the party’s state congress, Wike said: “Let me assure all of you, not while we live will anybody take away the structure of the PDP from us. But let me tell people, I hear some governors who say they will take over the structure and give it back to somebody.
“I pity those governors because I will put fire in their states. When God has given you peace, you say you don’t want peace – anything you see, you take. Because I heard they got some money from a signature bonus, and so their heads are getting big that they will put a hand in my own state. Prepare because I have the capacity to do the same thing in your state. Whether you are from Bauchi, I don’t give a damn; whichever state you are from, as far as I know that you are trying to put yourself in Rivers State, your hand will get burnt, and you will never sleep in your state.”
In response, the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, said the PDP Governors Forum (PDP GF) remained one of the most potent organs of the party and would response to the minister’s threat. According to him, the PDP had implicit confidence in the ability of the forum to continue to stabilize the party as well as being the reference point of development in ghettos country.
The PDP Governors’ Forum, on September 3, condemned Wike’s threat as irresponsible.
In a statement by its Director General, Emmanuel Agbo, on Tuesday, it labelled Wike’s threat as completely unacceptable.
Part of the statement read: “The attention of the Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum (PDP-GF) under the chairmanship of H.E. Senator Bala Abdulkarim Mohamed (CON) and Governor of Bauchi State and all the member-Governors has been drawn to a widely circulating news story in which the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, H.E. Barrister Nyesom Wike, former Governor of Rivers State, made scathing and threatening comments regarding member-Governors of the Forum and notes the significant concerns that have been raised in the public space regarding the unity and peaceful coexistence within our party.
“The statements and threats to peaceful coexistence made by Wike to ‘Put fire’ in the PDP controlled States are unbridled, irresponsible and without ambiguity unacceptable as it undermines efforts to build and maintain peace, cohesion, collaboration and mutual respect amongst leaders and members of the party. It is rather unfortunate that this is coming from someone who was once a member of this highly revered forum as a former governor.”
The forum emphasized its commitment to a ‘touch one, touch all’ approach, pledging to support one another both individually and collectively, regardless of the circumstances.
It added: “A tradition Wike tremendously enjoyed in his days of travail as governor. Thus, we, therefore, maintain that our position on the affairs of the PDP in Rivers State, as unanimously resolved at our 2024, 3rd, and 4th Meetings held in Enugu and Taraba States respectively are not subject to review by any individual no matter how highly placed.
“We wish to emphasise that neither is the position of the Forum personal nor does it by any stretch of the imagination undermine the relevance of any stakeholder in the party. Rather, as loyal party faithful, members of the Forum remain committed to that pristine practice that was intended to guarantee order, eliminate conflicting centres of loyalty epitomised by the situation in Rivers State, and guard against distracting the Governor in the prosecution of his mandate. Wike benefitted wholly from that arrangement.
“We are irrevocably committed to working with the National Working Committee (NWC) of our great party, the PDP, in ensuring that Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State is conferred with all the privileges he is entitled to as a Governor elected on the platform of our party, both at the state and national levels.”
Advertisement
The governors affirmed that their unwavering commitment to party unity was of utmost importance and stressed that the PDP had always prioritised unity and collective advancement. According to the Forum, the governors’ recent actions, including backing Fubara, demonstrated their dedication to these principles.
Saturday’s state congress produced Chief Chukwuemeka Aaron as chairman to Wike’s loyalists. With the development, Fubara’s political fate in PDP appears to be precarious, and Wike appears to have won the year-long battle of his self-acclaimed political structure in the state.
The congress was held in defiance of an interim injunction issued by the Rivers State High Court barring the PDP from holding the congress in the state.
The Congress was supervised by the representatives of the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the security agencies and members of the NWC of the PDP with Wike in attendance, which gives credence to the legality of the exercise on face value.
BOT’S INTERVENTION
A few days before the Congress, a delegation of the PDP’s Board of Trustees, BoT, led by the Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara; former Chairman, Ahmed Makarfi; Elder statesman, Olabode George: and Senator Abdul Ningi visited Governor Fubara in Government House with the assurance that the BoT would resolve the lingering crisis in the party, constitutionally.
Many people described the BoT’s visit as ‘a panic mission’. This was so because the political space was abuzz with a story of Fubara’s rumored defection from the PDP to the Actions Peoples’ Party, APP. The panic also led to the bombing of the party’s secretariat in Port Harcourt by a yet to be identified arsonist.
The BoT Chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, confirmed that fear when he said the party was scared of losing Rivers State to strong opposition members as this poses a serious problem to the future of the nation.
“We were scared, sir, when we heard or read speculations, perceptions or what have you, that the party, if we are not careful, might lose Rivers State. Of course, if we lose Rivers State, Nigeria has lost its future,” he said.
The former Senate President went on to reminiscence on what happened in 2015, and 2023 and vowed never to allow that to repeat itself.
“These men and women you see here are very neutral. As the conscience of the party, we must go by the rule of law. And anything you do, going by the rule of law can never be wrong. It may be delayed but it cannot be wrong,” Wabara said.
He noted that the governor had demonstrated enormous care for the PDP, which is why he has been so patient with the inactivity of the party leadership amid the crisis.
“I don’t want to describe it. Otherwise, as a governor, we have former governors here, I doubt if they would have taken as much as you have. So, on behalf of this party, once again, let me thank you for your resilience, your wisdom, and for the fact that you are still in this party,” he added.
FUBARA’S ASSURANCES
The BoT members left Port Harcourt with a double assurance that Rivers State was still in the kitty of the PDP, especially when Governor Fubara renewed his vow of membership of the party.
“So far, what is important this afternoon is that we are still members of the party, and the owners of the party have visited us.
“So, for those people outside who are carrying all sorts of rumour and propaganda, at least, this visit will put that propaganda to rest, and to tell the world that we are and we still remain members of the Peoples Democratic Party,” he said.
The NEC meeting of the party, originally set for August to address burning issues, including Damagum’s replacement, was first moved to September 26 because some members were travelling to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage. It has now been rescheduled to October 24. How this could reconcile the deepening crisis in the party is now only a matter of conjectures.
