Prominent members of the Peoples Democratic Party have challenged former Rivers State Governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, asserting that he cannot dismantle the party.
Wike, speaking at the PDP secretariat in Port Harcourt on Saturday, warned PDP governors to stay clear of the party’s affairs in Rivers, threatening to “put fire in their states.”
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 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.”
PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary Ibrahim Abdullahi remarked that Wike’s comments posed no threat to the PDP, saying, “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.”
The Osun State chapter of the PDP urged Wike to face his duty as a minister and stop “threatening” those in support of Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Director of Media and Publicity Oladele Olabamiji said Wike’s statement was “reckless and irresponsible.”
He said, “Wike’s statement is rather a reckless and irresponsible one, to say the least. Governor Fubara is not an outcast. He is a PDP governor. On that premise, it is out of place for Wike to threaten PDP governors for supporting one of their own.”
Rivers State Commissioner for Environment Sydney Gbara called on security agencies to invite Wike for questioning following his comments. Gbara said such statements were not expected from an elder statesman like the former governor, pointing out that threatening 13 governors was tantamount to causing a crisis in the country.
He said, “Well I feel that as an elder statesman, nobody will expect that he will make such utterances… 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.”
Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri is hopeful that the crisis rocking the party will be resolved soon.
Diri gave the assurance on Saturday during the PDP state congress in Yenagoa, saying, “The drama at the national level of our party, we are working to resolve it. 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.”
