Wike, Damagum defend standpoints as PDP, Rivers’ crises fester

● No going back on stance against Fubara, Wike insists
● Says Wabara unfit to serve as BoT chair
● I can’t be intimidated out of office, Damagum declares
● ‘Criticisms have made me popular, I may run for presidency’
● Rivers Assembly factions hold parallel public hearings
● PDP inaugurates disciplinary committee

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, and the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagum, yesterday dug in their heels on the crises battering the main opposition political party.

Wike, the previous governor of Rivers State, declared he would not back down on the political issues that have pitted him against his successor, Siminalayi Fubara.

Similarly, Damagum affirmed that no amount of blackmail or criticism would intimidate him out of office.

At a media parley to mark his one year in office as FCT Minister, Wike said his focus is delivering President Bola Tinubu’s mandate, not supporting Fubara.

The minister also faulted moves to remove Damagum, saying the acting chairman cannot be replaced until a national convention.

He said it would be unlawful to appoint an acting chairman without an election and then require him to preside over the affairs of elected National Working Committee (NWC) members.

Wike and Fubara have been at loggerheads since the governor assumed office following disagreements over the control of the party structure in the state. The face-off has resulted in the factionalisation of the state House of Assembly.

During a live media parley with some select television stations in Abuja yesterday, Wike said: “In good conscience, I fought for Fubara to become governor without any regrets, and you now say you don’t want to be part of the family; no problem. Aregbesola was brought by Tinubu, but he’s no longer with the president.

“Honestly, I can tell you there is no going back, and my people know. What support? Have I come out of the one I did? Some people don’t play politics of integrity, but I do. He’s the one that said, ‘dey your dey’, so let me ‘dey my dey’. This doesn’t worry me because I’m focused on the mandate Mr President gave me in the FCT.”

Wike also denied speculations that he was planning to leave the PDP, saying: “I don’t run away from any fight. I will stay there. I will fight it out. Who am I going to run from? The vampires? I cannot do that!

“I will not leave the PDP even when the fight at home (Rivers State) and national level gets tougher. I will fight till the last. I am not prepared to join the APC. I have said it before, and I want to repeat it. The work I am doing here was handed over to me by the president, and I am focused on achieving the task before me. I will not fold my arms and allow the party I have suffered for years to continue to do injustice to members. I will not accept that.”

Wike’s statement came amid speculation that he might leave the PDP due to the party’s internal crisis, particularly against him.

Chief Edwin Clark, a former Federal Commissioner for Information and South-South leader, had called on Damagun to expel Wike to save the party from destruction.

In an open letter to Damagun, Clark said: “I am writing to bring to your attention the activities of the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, who is using his closeness to President Tinubu to intimidate the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and the party.”

Clark added: “I cannot stand by and allow the minister to continue to hound the governor. If we do not stop him, the matter will consume him, Wike, and their cohorts.”

But in a swift response yesterday, Wike said: “I don’t know the party Chief Clark belongs to, but in 2014, when I came out to run, he said no, because it was the turn of the Ijaw. He said nothing would make me win, but to the glory of God, I won.

“I wasn’t a bad person when I championed (the cause) for an Ijaw man to be governor, but I have become a bad person because of issues. There is nothing Clark has not said, but I vowed never to respond.

“In leadership, everything must not be smooth; I had my crisis when I was there. Did I blame anybody? I faced the crisis squarely. When I was there, you all saw what the Federal Government did to me. Did I accuse any ethnic group? No. If you are in a leadership position, you should be able to stand and face the crisis. That’s what politics is all about. Sometimes it will be good, and other times it won’t be rosy.”

IN a related development, the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, described Adolphus Wabara, the Chairman of the PDP’s Board of Trustees (BoT), as an “inconsistent character” who is not worthy of the position.

He questioned Wabara, as the BoT chairman, declaring support for the Labour Party governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti.

He said: “Wabara is the PDP BoT chairman. The governor of his state, Dr Alex Otti, has not stayed one year when Wabara said his second term is guaranteed. This is the second term of another political party, and he said he is the party’s conscience.

“You have taken a position, and you are inviting Wike. To do what? To waste my time? Wabara is not in a position to lead. Do you know how he became the chairman of the PDP BoT? Ask him. In 2023, he led a team to visit me when the crisis in PDP was about the presidential candidate. Ask him where the report is. I say, what kind of characters are these?

“That was the team he led. He said they would submit the report, even in the meeting, he told me about the problem, that they would not budge, and I said that the right thing must be done. Ask him about the report. The next day, they made him acting chairman of the PDP to compensate him.”

FOR his part, Damagum declared: “Let me send a message to everyone talking about ‘Damagum this’ or ‘Damagum that’. I cannot be intimidated. The more you mention me, the more popular I become.”

The acting national chairman, who has been at the centre of the recent crisis in the opposition party, told party leaders during the inauguration of a reconciliation committee headed by former Osun State governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola that he faulted how some party leaders had been making public statements against his style of administration.

He said the criticisms have enhanced his popularity, and he might even consider running for the presidency.

Responding to criticisms against his letter to the Appeal Court to counter an earlier letter by the legal adviser to the party, Damagum said: “Sometimes, I feel sad. I want to clear certain insinuations that have been trending on social media. Last I checked, the signatories of this party are the chairman and the secretary.

“Just because the chairman and secretary signed a letter, it has become an issue. People are making all sorts of insinuations about it. I don’t want to engage with the other person. It’s a distraction.

“But it pains me when I see someone who knows the workings of the NWC going on television to mislead the audience and say things that are not correct. It is painful. Very, very painful.”

Damagum said: “There is precedent for what we did. During Kashamu’s case, the chairman and secretary brought it to the Supreme Court. There was also the issue of Anambra.”

He expressed delight that he has always worked well with the secretary in any situation, adding: “I don’t make decisions without consulting my members. I’ve always been proud of that. My door has always been open. So, nobody is going to intimidate me into abdicating my responsibility.”

He said: “I thank God. People are making me very popular lately. Anytime you open social media or television, it’s ‘Damagum, Damagum’. Honestly speaking, I’ve started contemplating throwing my hat into the ring and vying for the presidency of this country because I’ve become popular. Even though the negative publicity is meant to bring me down, I’m not deterred.”

He added: “And to my detractors, let me tell you. I will not abdicate my responsibility. But I will act within the confines of the law, as stipulated by the constitution.

“So, for those interested in seeing Damagum’s downfall, this is a buildup to undermine me before we have NEC. But if you bring Damagum down and lose the party, what have you achieved? Because in trying to bring me down, you are also bringing down your party.”

MEANWHILE, the political crisis in Rivers State worsened this week with rival factions of the State House of Assembly holding separate public hearings on different bills.

The Victor Oko Jumbo-led faction held a public hearing on the Rivers Emergency Management Agency Bill 2024 on Tuesday, August 20, while the Martin Amaewhule-led faction followed suit with a public hearing on the Rivers State Electricity Market Bill 2024 yesterday.

The Electricity Market Bill seeks to repeal the existing Rivers State Electricity and Gas Board Law and establish a new framework for electricity supply, generation, transmission, and distribution within the state.

The parallel public hearings, however, have left residents and stakeholders wondering which faction is legitimate.