On Monday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) announced that it has sent a letter to Nyesom Wike, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), requesting his appearance before the party’s newly established Disciplinary Committee. This request is in response to petitions alleging anti-party activities against him.
The party expressed disappointment over Wike’s recent threat to incite political unrest in states led by PDP governors who have expressed support for Siminalayi Fubara, Wike’s counterpart from Rivers State.
Ibrahim Abdullahi, the deputy national publicity secretary of PDP, shared this information during an appearance on Channels TV’s breakfast show, ‘Sunrise Daily.’ He emphasized that Wike should have chosen his words more carefully and clarified that the party does not endorse his comments.
It is important to note that the PDP recently inaugurated a Disciplinary Committee, chaired by former Minister of Foreign Affairs, High Chief Tom Ikimi.
Shortly after the committee’s inauguration, Chief Bode George, a former national vice chairman of the PDP and a known ally of Wike, resigned from the committee, citing concerns about its fairness.
Over the weekend, Wike threatened to create political turmoil in the states of governors who choose to support Fubara over him in their dispute over control of the Rivers State PDP structure.
Additionally, during their recent meeting in Jalingo, Taraba State capital, the PDP Governors’ Forum expressed support for Fubara, who has been in a long-standing political conflict with Wike.
But, addressing the PDP stakeholders during the party’s state congress in Port Harcourt on Saturday, Wike said: “Let me assure you, not while we live, will anybody take away the PDP structure from us.
“Let me tell you people; I hear that there are some governors who said they will take away the structure and give to somebody. I pity those governors because I will put fire in their states.
“When God has given you peace, you said you don’t want peace; whatever you see, you take.”
Reacting, however, the deputy national publicity secretary of the party disclosed that Wike is one of those whom party members have written petitions against for alleged anti-party activities, adding that the committee “has written him a letter inviting him over,” to appear before them.
“We have received petitions with regards to anti-party on those sabotaging the party all through the primaries leading up to where we are today. Those petitions have been aggregated across the country.”
When asked specifically about petitions against Wike, he revealed that party members felt Wike should not have gotten this far still as a member of the party.
He added, “Nyesom Wike is one of the persons expected to face that committee which is headed by no less a person than High Chief Tom Ikimi.”
He said the current party leadership should be given credit for “being able to navigate the waters by not sanctioning people without giving them an opportunity of fair hearing” as against what happened under the immediate-past national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
On the recent threat by Wike against governors over the River crisis, Abdullahi said: “He (Wike) was referring to something and it was clear for everybody to see that he was referring to the governor of Bauchi State over his interference in the congress in the determination of the congress in Rivers State. I don’t know if Wike will be fair to himself if he expects the governor of Bauchi, who is the chairman of the governors forum and the leader of the PDP going forward to keep quiet in the issues affecting Rivers State because that is one of our states and we worked so hard to get that state. Wike should have been able to manage his words carefully.
“It was a very disappointing remark, we were not expecting him to say that and we are not with him on that.”
When asked if the party was on the side of Bauchi State governor on the matter, he said, “We are with Wike and everybody. What we are saying is that that is a very bad statement for Wike to make and we are not in support of it.”
On resolving the crisis in the party, he said PDP has handled more delicate issues in the past, adding that the current impasse is “one of them and we will go past it.”
