E-X-P-O-S-E-D-! APC’s Ganduje, PDP’s Damagum plotting with Wike to frustrate Fubara’s Rivers govt, Clark alleges
By BASHIR ADEFAKA
Clark accused the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and the same Damagum, who is supposed to be playing constructive opposition politics to put the ailing APC government on its toes, of being involved in a plot with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike, to disrupt and cause confusion with a view to sabotaging the elected government of Rivers State and the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara.
Weeks after it was widely spread that retaining Amb. Umar Damagum as Acting National Chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was a win for controversial Nyesom Wike against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, one of the hatchet jobs he was retained to do against the only formidable opposition party capable of unsitting the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027, if united, appears to have started.
Exposing this plot on Monday May 20, 2024 was former Federal Commissioner for Information and South South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, who accused the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, and the same Damagum, who is supposed to be playing constructive opposition politics to put the ailing APC government on its toes, of being involved in a plot with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr. Nyesom Wike, to disrupt and cause confusion with a view to sabotaging the elected government of Rivers State and the Governor of the state, Siminalayi Fubara.
Otherwise, the Ijaw National Leader, who called on both the National Working Committee (NWC), the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the parties Ganduje and Dangum lead and stakeholders to call both Ganduje and Damagum to order, wondered how it has been possible that the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government and the two political parties would allow an individual that Wike represents to distrupt and cause confusion.
Chief Clark spoke amidst feelings in certain quarters that the crisis in Rivers State is being deliberately fuelled by President Tinubu as one of his ways of taking advantage of existing crisis to advance self political interest to sweep Wike out of relevance, being to him the only Southern politician that has the nerves to challenge him in 2027 despite his low score card so far in the only one year he has spent in office.
To Chief Edwin Clark, the current game is not just about Tinubu being careful with Wike or fueling the crisis by supporting Fubara to sweep him out of relevance, but about all of them; Tinubu, Ganduje and Damagum working together to frustrate the Siminalayi Fubara-led Rivers State government in a way that the defeated, at the end of the day, will be the Rivers State people.
The DEFENDER reports that this is how party politics that should be played in bid to seek to better the lives of the people while putting national interest first has become only to be played in advancing the interest of an individual political player abd that alone.
Otherwise, a government that is with its onions, amidst cries of unprecedented pangs and agony of hunger and hardship in the land from the first hour of its inauguration, will bother about improving the living condition of tge people not about how to nonchalantly plot its way to return the second term and continue inflicting the pains in them.
It was gathered that this could have been the only reason even Tinubu is oleases with a man, who is perpetrating and committing anti-party activities professing PDP in the face but, in his heart, actually works for APC, to stand till today.
In a letter dated May 20, 2024 and addressed to both Chairmen of the APC and PDP, the Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) urged Ganduje and Damagum to call Wike to order against the backdrop that he is dancing naked in the open market in the politics of what he described as madness in Rivers State with one leg each in the two parties.
Clark, who asked why Ganduje has chosen to deal with a Rivers APC caretaker Committee that is loyal to Wike, knowing full well that there is an existing elected executives and pushing it behind the background, posited that the support given to Wike by both party Chairmen has made him courageous enough to intimidate and anger the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and the state government.
He said this, stressing that such action by Ganduje, to support an unrecognised APC caretaker committee that turned round to ask 27 self-sacked pro-Wike House of Assembly members to proceed on impeachment process against Governor Fubara, is seen as an act to overthrow the duly elected governor, which is criminal.
Clark, therefore, appealled to both APC and PDP Chairmen to, in the interest of peace and stability in Nigeria, disassociate and disconnect themselves from what he termed the diabolical and mischievous plan by Wike for no just cause to bring down the government of his successor, Governor Fubara.
The Leader of Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) added that Ganduje and Damagum should retrace their steps and take charge of their political parties in Rivers State and not leave it for Wike who is neither PDP nor APC.
He also lampooned Ganduje and Damagum, accusing them of deliberately breaching two important sections of their party constitution which says that when a position is vacant in the NWC, the replacement should come from the same zone of the person, who left the office, but both of them are from the North West, whereas the former National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu and Iyorchia Ayu are from the North Central, adding that like their Godfather, they do not believe in law and order, but confusion.
The Clark’s letter read, “As a patriotic old statesman, I strongly believe that I should address this letter to you to call to order FCT Minister, Chief NyesomWike, because he is dancing naked in the open market in the politics of madness in Rivers State with one leg each in the two parties. I know both of you are fully aware and involved in the political crisis in Rivers State which is caused by Wike who is controlling the two parties in Rivers State particularly the PDP.
“I strongly advise both of you to withdraw from the madness of politics of Rivers State to avoid the dangerous crisis facing Rivers State, one of the most important states producing the resourcesused to sustain the economy of this country. I hope you do not forget that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the deep seaport of Onne are very well established in Rivers State. How can the Federal Government and the two main political parties allow an individual to disrupt and cause confusion, harassment of the democratically elected Governor, SirSiminalayiFubara on the guise that he alone and not the people of Rivers State made Fubara Governor, in his provocative and inciting statement?
“He apologized to the Rivers People for choosing Fubara to become Governor of Rivers State at Ogu town in Ogu-Bolo LGA. In addressing the lawmaker representing Ogu-Bolo constituency in the House of Assembly who defected from PDP to APC, Wike declared, “Let me say this clearly, Arnold, don’t be frightened that anybody will remove you as an assembly member. Most of you don’t understand, this is our work. What I am doing is to make them fail, to make them angry. I have no other job than to make them angry everyday, to make them make mistakes everyday and they will be in trouble everyday. So don’t worry yourselves.
“If they like they can go to anybody by 2am or 4am to get injunction. The law will take its cause. We are not afraid, we followed due process, we must follow due process, we are not going to harm anybody, we are not going to give money to anybody to buy arms and kill anybody. We won’t do that.”
Nyesom Wike aggressively boasted that nobody can remove the member representing Ogu-Bolo Constituency.
“Therefore one is tempted to guess what this dangerous, diabolical and mischievous politician can do to breach the constitution and cause a breakdown in law and order in the country. He is not in a position to amend section 109 (1g) of the constitution and he is not in a position to undermine the Supreme Court judgement which has now been firmly accepted as precedent, which binds all Courts in Nigeria.
“Listening to Wike who is a self imposed leader of the party PDP and the champion of madness in Rivers Politics is also controlling the ruling party APC by appointing a caretaker committee under the former Chief of Staff to Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Tony Okocha, while he is not the legitimate chairman of APC in Rivers State.The legitimate Chairman Emeka Beke was suspended and was replaced with Chief Tony Okocha, because of his close relationship with the Leader of APC in the state, in person of Rt Hon Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. Chief Tonye Cole, the APC gubernatorial candidate in Rivers State also belongs to the elected executives. NyesomWike,in order to impress the Presidency and APC in Abuja, decided to create the Chief Tony Okocha led caretaker committee with which he now deals with the APC in Rivers State with the approval of the National Chairman of APC.
“One may be tempted to ask the National Chairman of APC why he chose to deal with a caretaker committee of APC which the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike had earlier presented the committee to him in the APC secretariat in Abuja before constituting it as a caretaker committee. But curiously, you now deal with a caretaker committee instead of the elected Chairman. I hope you are aware of the court action filed against you and APC by the elected Chairman of APC in Rivers State, Emeka Beke.
“The old APC members by law are the APC leaders because they were never removed before the illegal caretaker committee was imposed on Rivers State, who are loyalist to Wike. The legally constituted executives are in court, challenging the imposition of the caretaker committee on Rivers State chapter of the APC by the NWC.
“By his statements, he made it very clear that he is at work in Rivers State to intimidate, harass, disorganise the state in order to replace Governor Fubara with the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Martins Amaewhule, through impeachment. In his usual contradiction, he stated at a new year banquet on Sunday 7th January 2024, in his massive building standing tall in a large expanse of land, that this trouble between him and the elected Governor started when the Governor and others planned to remove Hon Amewhule as speaker of Rivers State house of Assembly and Wike reacted that you can’t do that to anObiakpo son. Meanwhile, he had held meetings with his loyal 27 members of the House to impeach the newly elected Governor of Rivers State.
“The House met at an ungodly hour at 7am and 23 members signed the notice of impeachment against the Governor and as part of the arrangement, the 27 members again met at the same venue on 11th December 2023 and defected en mass to APC, singing APC songs and waving APC flags and both of you were part of this wicked arrangement made by Wike. Indeed, that was the day the almighty Wike wanted to install an APC Government in Rivers State to show President Bola Tinubu how influential he was in Rivers State.
“My dear Chairmen, both of you have deliberately breached two important sections of your party constitution which says that when a position is vacant in the NWC, the replacement should come from the same zone of the person who left the office, but both of you are from the North West, whereas, your former National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu and Iyor Chia Ayu are from the North Central. Like your Godfather, you do not believe in law and order but confusion.
“The support given to Nyesom Wike by both party Chairmen has made him courageous enough to intimidate and anger the Rivers State Governor and Government and this is seen as an act to overthrown the duly elected Governor, which is criminal.
“Finally, I am therefore appealing to you, in the interest of peace and stability in Nigeria to disassociate yourselves from the diabolical and mischievous plan by Wike for no just cause to bring down the Government of his successor, Governor Fubara. I strongly advice both of you to retrace your steps and take charge of your political parties in Rivers State and not leaving it for Wike who is neither PDP nor APC.”
