Govs Are Leaders Of Our Party In States –PDP
5 min read
• Says Court Order On Rivers Congresses ‘ll Be Obeyed
• NWC Hasn’t Approved Rivers Congresses
The lingering political crisis between the governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor and FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, over the leadership of PDP in Rivers State on one hand and governors elected under the PDP, is far from over, even as the PDP has shown the indication that Fubara is the recognized leader of the party in the state.
Spokesman of the party, Debo Ologunagba who responded to this and other enquiries from TNN on the over the telephone dismissed as untrue and falsehood, insinuations that the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, had also put a stamp of approval on the recent congresses conducted in the state, by the Wike group.
Wike who started as a godfather to Fubara, defending him from oppressors and political enemies, especially during the 2023 governorship election in the state, is now the governor’s tormentor-in-chief, largely because of what Wike refers to political structures and the leadership thereof.
On May 29, 2023, when Wike handed over power to Fubara, he had told the people of Rivers State, particularly PDP members, that Fubara was the party leader. But less than six months after, when the duo started fighting, Wike started fretting over leadership of the party and moved to take control of the party structures.
His followers, including former local government chairmen who were sacked by Fubara insisted that Wike and not the governor, was their leader. All those under the political coven controlled by Wike also saw him in that light and would not regard Fubara as the leader of PDP in the state.
Some weeks ago, against the order of two high courts in the state and following an Abuja court of coordinate jurisdiction, Wike brought his followers together for the wards, local government and state congresses that produced leaders at the various levels. Neither Fubara nor any of his followers were part of the congresses.
The development provoked governors elected under the PDP to come up with a position, supporting their colleague and urging the party leadership to hand over the party to Fubara, a decision that attracted Wike’s ire.
The minister, who spoke at the PDP state congress in Port Harcourt penultimate week, said he was ready to ignite fire in all the PDP states as a direct consequence of the governor’s decision to support Fubara against him.
Last week, a seeming syndicated news report featured in two national newspapers created the impression that the NWC of the party, led by two of Wike’s coremen-the acting national chairman and the secretary-had decided to validate the congresses that Wike organized in Rivers State, thereby snubbing the PDP governors who had insisted that the state governor should be allowed to function in his capacity as leader of the party.
The viral publications created the impression that Wike had won the leadership battle over Fubara. But in a telephone interview with TNN, the party’s national publicity secretary, Debo Ologunagba, said the convention in the PDP was that governors were the ones recognized as leaders of the party in all the states controlled by the party.
His words “conventionally, a governor is a leader of our party in the state. So, don’t ask me (about) a particular state. The convention over time… I can’t tell the particular provision I don’t have it, I am not the legal adviser of the party, but the convention is that the governor of a state is the leader of the party.”
When asked if there were exceptions to the rule, he said “if there are exceptions it would have been written in black and white.”
On the reported resolution of the NWC regarding the congresses conducted in Rivers State, the party’s spokesman “we are settling that issue but may I tell you this; there is a process for congresses in the past, and so when people just come around and talk about issues and just come with their conclusions… there is a process. The process is that the party will set up congress committee and they will come and do whatever thing, they will submit their report.
“Until NEC confirms it, you cannot say there is a conclusion on that (matter), Okay? So, that is basically what I can say to you. The NWC will be making a statement. There has been so many analysis of people thinking it should have been this way or that way.
“You are aware that there is couple of complaints and that is why you have those processes, we need to set up a committee, set up an appeal panel so that if anybody has any protest you can go to the appeal, the appeal will produce a report, the report will be sent to the NWC then they will have the conversation about that and discuss also and then make recommendation, either accept or reject.
“But one thing is clear, we are a party of law and order, in cases where there are issues that have to do with the court, we always respect court order and that is the position. As much as I am aware that there are three of such orders in Rivers State, so in that type of issues, PDP would use caution to be sure that we don’t break court orders, we are a law abiding party, we don’t disobey court orders, we don’t, we are a party of rule of law and order.”
Ologunagba further debunked the claim that the NWC had decided to accept the congresses that took place in Rivers State, stressing that the party would obey the court order on the controversial congresses.
