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Members of the Peoples Democratic Party have told former Governor of Rivers State and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, that he cannot dismantle the party as he boasted.
Recall that on Saturday at the PDP Secretariat in Port Harcourt, Wike warned the PDP governors to stay off the party's affairs in Rivers State.
He also threatened that he would “put fire in their states interfering with Rivers politics.”
Wike had warned, “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.”
H spoke against the backdrop of the party's congress to restore incumbent Governor Siminalayi Fubara's leadership in Taraba State during the party convention on August 23.
Prior to the Taraba meeting, governance in Rivers State had been in disarray due to a clash of interest between Wike and Governor Fubara, both PDP members.
This dispute over party control ripped the state House of Assembly into two, with two Speakers loyal to Wike and his successor Fubara.
Attempts by President Bola Tinubu and other prominent figures to mediate between the two factions have failed, with both groups refusing to sheathe their swords.
Reacting to the development, the PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary Ibrahim Abdullahi said Wike’s comments posed no threat to the PDP.
According to him, “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,” Abdullahi stated.
Also, the Osun State chapter of the PDP on Sunday urged Wike to face his duty as a minister and stop “threatening” those in support of Fubara.
The Director of Media and Publicity, Osun PDP, 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.
“At the PDP Governors Forum, they can offer help to one of them that needs it. Attacking them for doing that is out of place. We urge PDP governors to protect one of their own. Wike is not the President of Nigeria. He has a job in Abuja. He should face it and stop handing down threat."
