•The Inside Story
Rivers State’s political activities have been in high gear since the incumbent Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike lost his Presidential Primary election held by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at Abuja. First, is the fact that Governor Wike never believed that he would lose the election to the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, who scored the highest number of votes at the special convention. Shocked and beclouded with a sense of shame, after all, that he had said about key stakeholders in the Peoples Democratic Party, Governor Wike knew, from the night his presidential bid failed, that he has no other option than to submit himself to the dictates of the party hierarchy with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar at the helm of affairs, dictating the flow of events.
It is on record that in his final speech at the special Convention, Wike promised to work with whoever will emerge as the Presidential Flag bearer but backstabbing that Presidential candidate is a sign of mistrust, toe-scrapping and undesirable muddling which eventually has become a whirlwind that will likely chase Wike out from the PDP to continue his new romance with the national ruling political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). This political scenario will be messier as we approach the electioneering campaigns as Wike has finally dragged Atiku Abubakar and Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal to court, claiming that the Court should declare him the Presidential Candidate of PDP in the 2023 Presidential Primary election of May 28th and 29th, 2022.
But at his home front in Rivers State, how is the PDP leadership seeing the personal fight between Governor Wike and the PDP Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar? First is the fact that Wike is the leader of the party in the state as the highest office holder and financier of the party. His claim that he has remained in the party since its formation in 1998 is a welcome development as there are so many others who have not defected to any other political party since 1998 to date. And Governor Wike failed to understand that those loyal party members have their political future tied to the success of the party at the national level, especially with the Presidential candidate, Alhaji Abubakar’s victory at the polls on Saturday, 25th of February, 2023.
About 50 elective positions are at stake across the 319 Councillorship wards, 23- Local Government COUNCILS seats, 32 State constituencies for House of Assembly, 13 Federal House of Representatives seats, 3 Senatorial seats and several members of Board of Trustees (BoT). Others belong to various associations across national interests such as the Association of Former Councilors, Association of Former Chairmen of Local Government Councils, Association of Former State House of Assembly Members, Association of Former State Governors, and Association of Former Chairmen of PDP across the 36 states plus the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Former Presidents who are members of the Federal Security Council are all structures the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike neglected and allegedly concentrated on his personal agenda of ‘if I can’t be Presidential candidate, I will bring down the Party structure.’ It was on the above-mentioned party structure that former Deputy Speaker, Federal House of Representatives, Chief Austin Opara, former senator Lee Meaba, and Barrister Celestine Omehia, Rivers State Governor from May 29th to 25th of October 2007 went to hold a meeting with PDP Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar. This irked Governor Wike who condemned the Rivers State politicians who have allegiance to PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. He allegedly made a verbal threat of killing himself and those who attended the meeting with Atiku Abubakar without getting express permission and clearance from him.
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike failed to understand that majority of his party elders are not happy with his single highhandedness in selecting the Governorship candidate, former Accountant- General, Siminialaye Fubara who is an unknown political figure in Rivers State. Because of the way and manner, he chose the PDP Governorship candidate, Riverine Ijaws from Kalabari and Wakrikese areas of Rivers State are out to display their displeasure with the mobilization of votes against the PDP governorship candidate in Rivers State for the 2023 election. To realise this objective, several party members in the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Rivers Ijaw in the Kalabari area have resigned from the APC and joined other parties to be used to capture the Governorship ticket and eventually win the Rivers State Governorship election on March 11, 2023, before they will defect back to their original political parties prior to the election on February 25th, 2023.
There is mass defection ongoing from PDP to All Progressives Congress as the Director-General of Wike Solidarity Movement has defected while the APC spokesman, Chris Finebone has defected to PDP having come from Opobo/Nkoro Local Government area of Rivers State.
On the rumour making rounds that Governor Wike will join APC, he has denied that for a political party he described as having Cancer, which he is romancing with now is unbelievable, as politicians have different ways to seek relevance in the political firmament. Will Governor Wike and former Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi sit down in the same political party and discuss the welfare of Rivers State people after all the legal tussles and mudslinging? Only time will tell.
-Emeka Amaefula
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