How Nyesom Wike’s ambitions to be Rivers Governor brought down Jonathan in 2015, donated PDP to APC in 2023 – Ewoh

By OUR REPORTER, Port Harcourt

“Let us also look the current history of PDP in Rivers State. Quite okay Wike said he supported Sim, agreed, but Wike’s vote did not give Sim the success because Sim contested under the platform of PDP. There were other parties. Rivers people voted for Sim Fubara. Wike, in his usual tradition, wants to bring down the PDP but Rivers State were all together in one accord to say that, that wouldn’t happen. You brought Ali Modu Sheriff you brought him down. You brought Secondus you pulled him down. You brought Ayu you pulled him down. Rivers people said Wike can no longer pull down Sim Fubara and that wouldn’t happen,” he revealed.

The ongoing crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has become a subject of national discourse, with various members and political figures expressing their concerns about the party’s internal instability.

Recently, Honourable Robinson Ewoh, Chairman of the Governing Council of Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, made some damning revelations, pointing fingers at former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, as a key player in PDP’s troubles since 2015.

The former lawmaker, Ewoh’s narrative is anchored on Wike’s political ambition, which he claims triggered a series of events that have negatively impacted the PDP’s dominance on the national political stage.

According to him, Wike’s desire to become Governor of Rivers State in 2015 led to a rift within the party.

This division, he argues, drove away key political figures, such as former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and a handful of other governors, who eventually defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Wike’s rise to power, in Ewoh’s view, is directly linked to the defeat of former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 elections.

In his opinion, Wike’s emergence as Governor of Rivers State came with a hefty price — the loss of PDP’s grip on the presidential seat.

“Wike’s ambitions brought down Goodluck Jonathan,” Ewoh asserted, adding that the party’s influence has dwindled drastically under Wike’s leadership, from controlling 30 states to a mere 13.

For many in the PDP, the decline has been alarming, and Ewoh’s assertions paint Wike as a central figure in this unraveling.

“Wike is never a success story for PDP; instead, he has been a disaster to the party. It’s always his way or the highway,” Ewoh said, pointing to Wike’s often assertive and uncompromising approach as one of the reasons for the deepening crisis.

This development raises a critical question about the future of the PDP and Wike’s role within it, it was gathered.

The questions on the lips of many have been: Is the party’s current state truly a reflection of Wike’s influence? Or are there deeper issues within the party’s structure that have contributed to its steady decline?

As more voices within the party call for accountability and restructuring, one thing is clear — the PDP is at a crossroads. Whether the party can resolve its internal differences and regain its lost glory remains to be seen.

However, the narrative surrounding Wike’s role in the PDP’s current situation will likely continue to be a focal point in the party’s efforts to rebuild and re-strategize for future elections.

Watch details in video from three minutes and thirty five seconds, as posted by Opera News

Rivers LG elections in order

The DEFENDER reports that in furtherance to his assertions in the SYMFONI video, Robinson Ewoh, who is the immediate past Vice Chairman of Rivers West Senatorial District of the PDP, also asserted – when asked – the legitimacy of the Saturday October 5, 2024 Local Governments’ elections in the state.

According to him, “The Local Government election is in order. You know, like I have always said and I will keep saying it, it’s only in Nigeria here that you need police, you need the Army, you need the Navy, etcetera, to provide security (in election).

“All the hullabaloo about police brutality in election, about police interference in election is not about the citizens, it’s about the police conniving with certain politicians to undermine the system.”

“In 2008 November 5th, when Barrack Obama was first elected I was in US and I monitored that election, we didn’t see a single uniform man. We did not see any police, not Army, not Navy. So, naturally and ordinarily we don’t need any police to provide security here.

“Citizens should be free to go out freely as citizens and exercise their franchise on election day. And because the police did not come out on that (LG) election day, we did not see any crisis. That is to send the clear signal to the nation that we do not need police to monitor our election or to provide security for any election. Citizens came out on their own, voted and go home on their own.

“All the hullabaloo about police brutality in election, about police interference in election is not about the citizens, it’s about the police conniving with certain politicians to undermine the system.

Police aided rigging of Edo governorship election

“Like you see in Edo State, police aided and abated the rigging of election against the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State but in Rivers State here, because the police did not participate, the police were not part of the process, the process was seamless, the process was in order. No complaints. Did you see any killings anywhere?

“You see like I have always said and I will keep saying it, Nigeria is a federation. We have the federating units. Rivers State is one of the federating units. There is no way anybody under any guise, not even court, not even Supreme Court can stop governance in Rivers State because Rivers State is one of the federating units. We have our judiciary, we have our legislature, we have our executive. Nobody under any guise, under any court order, under any law can stop governance in this state,” he revealed why all efforts by Wike or anyone behind him to use the judiciary to disrupt governance in Rivers State currently or any time to come will always be in futility.

A brief history of Wike

Today, by the time Obaseki is going, PDP will be controlling just about 12 states. So, Wike is never a success story to PDP. Wike has been disaster to PDP.”

Continuing, Ewoh had intended to talk about what Nyesom Wike is doing to the state in the name of playing politics but first asked, “Are you prepared that I should give you a brief history of Wike? He governed Obio-Akpor for three years. Thereafter he was re-elected, not because he was perfect, not because he did well but because he was helped by Rotimi Amaechi and Dr. Peter Odili then Governor. He finished as governor (meant to say LG Chairman?) he became the Chief of Staff. Rotimi Amaechi then Governor nominated him as Minister. He became minister under Goodluck Jonathan.

“Fortunately or unfortunately in 2015 he had ambitions to become Governor of Rivers State. Going forward, what do we see? The ambition of Wike brought down Goodluck Jonathan. The ambition to be Governor brought down Peoples Democratic Party. From 2015 onward because of Wike’s ambition, crisis crept into Peoples Democratic Party, Rotimi Amaechi the Governor of Rivers State and few other governors left the PDP and supported the APC. And because they left PDP and because of Wike’s crisis, that gave APC, All Progressives Congress, victory at the centre. So the emergence of Wike as Governor of Rivers State brought down Jonathan as the President.

“Jonathan lost his seat, lost his re-election because of Wike’s ambition. The PDP lost the centre because of Wike’s ambition. And from 2015 that Wike became a key player in the Peoples Democratic Party, what has been the success of PDP? The PDP, instead of making progress from controlling 30 states, PDP has now come down to less, controlling 13 states, as we speak.

“Wike has a history of bringing down people. You support people today the next day you bring them down. He started with Ali Modu Sheriff. Wike supported Ali Modu Sheriff, the same Wike brought him down. Wike supported Secondus, the same Wike brought Uche Secondus down. Wike supported (Iyorchia) Ayu, the same Wike brought Ayu down.

“From 2015 when Wike started playing key role in PDP, PDP began to come down. As I said, from controlling over 30 states, from controlling the centre, PDP lost the centre, PDP lost a whwhole number of states. Today, by the time Obaseki is going, PDP will be controlling just about 12 states. So, Wike is never a success story to PDP. Wike has been disaster to PDP,” he emphatically submitted.

The current history of Wike/Fubara crisis

Also he said, “Let us also look the current history of PDP in Rivers State. Quite okay Wike said he supported Sim, agreed, but Wike’s vote did not give Sim the success because Sim contested under the platform of PDP. There were other parties. Rivers people voted for Sim Fubara. Wike, in his usual tradition, wants to bring down the PDP but Rivers State were all together in one accord to say that, that wouldn’t happen. You brought Ali Modu Sheriff you brought him down. You brought Secondus you pulled him down. You brought Ayu you pulled him down. Rivers people said Wike can no longer pull down Sim Fubara and that wouldn’t happen,” he revealed.

Wike’s 8 years as governor and obsession with money

He said, “It’s about money. If you look at Wike’s life, it’s all about money, what he gets out of the system. If you look at Wike’s eight years as Governor of Rivers State, he looted over N2 trillion. But that is not even what we are talking now.

“For his eight years as Governor, he converted 50 percent of Rivers State properties to his personal properties. In all of his life, it’s about self, self, self. It’s not about the people.

“If you listen to Wike’s speech from 1999 when he became Local Government Chairman up to date as FCT Minister, you can’t hear Wike say ‘my people’, ‘people’ or about the people. It’s about power, power, acquiring more power, acquiring more wealth. That is Wike.

“Wike doesn’t have any business with people and governance, as we all know, is about the people. And if you see a leader that doesn’t talk about the people, forget that leader. And that is why the government at the centre is going down because men like Wike cannot govern Nigeria.

“Nigeria, as we speak, is at a crossroad. There is hunger, prices of foodstuff are very high, prices of petroleum products are so high, exchange rate is high. What is Wike talking about? Instead of Wike coming to Rivers State and tell them the government at the centre is doing X, Y, Z to make sure that they fix the suffering of the people, Wike comes here to threaten people he would change the government at the state, he would do this, he would do that,” Ewoh said more with hint about Wike’s family background and said, anybody who cannot help his family cannot help the people.