Fubara, others mute as Wike accuses Rivers gov’t of pushing PDP out of gov’t

The Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara and other members of his cabinet have remained silent on the allegation by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Chief Nyesom Wike, that the state government has pushed the People’s Democratic Party out of his administration.

Wike also claimed that the incumbent governor of the state was making plans to decamp to the Action Peoples Party, APP, adding that PDP in the state would face them.

At press time, the governor of the state, Fubara, has not made any comment as regards the claims of the Minister, even as calls and text message made to the Commissioner for Information, Joseph Johnson, were not responded to.

The former Governor of the state and estranged political godfather to Fubara, spoke on Saturday, during the controversial State Congress of PDP, which held under tight security at the party’s state secretariat, Port Harcourt.

The congress came in spite of two separate orders of court that barred the party from holding the ward, local government and state congresses pending the determination of motion on notice before it.

It would be recalled that a State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt and presided over by Justice Charles Wali had issued and interim order stopping PDP from holding congresses in the state. This came after Justice Sobere Biambo had also in a suit filed by 11 aggrieved members of PDP issued and order stopping the party from going ahead with the scheduled congresses.

But the party had in the face of the orders conducted the three congress and further elected national delegates to represented the state at the national convention of PDP.

However, speaking at the state congress, weekend, Wike, has reiterated that he would not leave the PDP, in spite of the crisis rocking the party in the state, but vowed that he would ensure that the party sacks his estranged political son, Fubara in 2027 polls.

Wike said: “I assured you, yes we’ve done our own part by electing a government in the state. If the government said it does not want us, will you kill yourself? Will you run away from the party you built? We are the party members, and we have taken over our party. The way we did it, how we did it in 2023, the same God will allow us, will support us, will be with us in 2027.

“Let nobody be intimidated, I know how it is when you have worked hard and at the end of the day you are pushed away, I know how bad it feels, but again, it’s not every business you enter into that you get profit. So, see this one as one of those, but that you invest in and you lost, but that will not make you not to continue to work hard in order to invest in future and make your profit.

“So be strong, they said that we are finished, they are finished, anywhere you see them, say they are finished and let me assure all of you, not one will leave, anybody will take away the structure of PDP from us, not one will leave.”

The FCT Minister said he would take the fight to any governor who pitches tent with Rivers State Governor Fubara in the lingering political, threatening that he would put fire in the such state.

Wike said: “Let me tell you people. I hear that some governors who say they will take away the structure and give it back to somebody. I put it to you governors because I will put fire in their states.

“When God has given you peace, you say you don’t want peace, then whatever you see, you take. I don’t understand, simply because I hear they got money from this signature bonus, their heads are getting big that they will put hand in my own state, prepare because I have the capacity to also do the same thing in your own state.

“Even if you are from Bauchi, I don’t give a damn, whichever state you come 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, you will never do governance again, you will see political crisis, as far as PDP is concerned.”

Wike warned leaders of PDP and its governors to steer clear the politics for the structures of the party in the state, noting that the state should be allowed to run its affairs.

He said: “So I’ve told them, now you have started, when I will start, don’t say I’m the one that destroyed PDP, you are the one that is trying to destroy PDP.

“Allow Rivers State to conduct the affairs of the party, we are aware of these unstable characters, we know that they are joining APP, let them wait during the time, they should face us in the election, don’t bother about our abuses, we have thick skin, we don’t even know what abuse is, so don’t say anybody is abusing me, of I’m nothing, they will not abuse me.

“They thought, we will have come to them and start begging, are we begging? we are not begging, let them go and see what is happening in Abuja, so they know, if we are talking about politics in Nigeria, we are more relevant than them, if today I say I will leave to another party, it will be a tsunami.”