Jimisayo Opanuga
The leader of the Ijaw nation and elder statesman, Edwin Clark, has said the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, is loyal only to himself and nobody else, “not even to the Ijaw people who supported his political rise.”
Clark’s statement comes in response to claims by Senator George Sekibo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) about Wike’s contributions to the Ijaw community.
In an open letter addressed to Sekibo, Clark said that aside from divine providence, the Ijaw people, including himself, were instrumental in Wike’s political success.
The letter, titled “Need for cautioning overstating the role of Chief Nyesom Wike with regards to politics in Rivers State as it relates to the Ijaws,” was also copied to President Bola Tinubu, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, and Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
Clark accused Wike of betraying everything he claimed to stand for, from the PDP primaries, where he promised to support whoever emerged as a candidate, to his vow not to be a minister, to his scathing criticism of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which he compared to a cancerous party.
He warned Wike’s supporters to be wary because he is only loyal to himself and no one else, despite his feigned allegiance, and described Wike as someone who discards his benefactors once they are no longer useful to him.
Clark wrote, “My dear son, have you and your fellow members of the support for Wike induced newly formed Ijaw Peoples Congress, thought of the character of the person you want to ‘adopt as a son’? Let me at this juncture, with the kind permission of Richard Akinola, refresh your mind on what the average Nigerian thinks of Barr. Nyesom Wike,”
“Wike is only loyal to himself and nobody else, irrespective of his feigned allegiance. He may kowtow and genuflect before a political leader, as he is currently doing in Abuja but once he can no longer use you, he goes into a fit of incoherent vituperative verbal assault, denigrating his benefactors.”
Recall that Wike, a prominent member of the opposition PDP, served as Governor of Rivers State from May 29, 2015, to May 29, 2023, before handing over to Fubara.
During the 2023 presidential election, Wike declared political support for PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar, but reportedly directed his loyalists to support opposition candidate Bola Tinubu.
After the election, Wike accepted a ministerial position from Tinubu’s ruling party, serving as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Reflecting on Wike’s political journey, Clark recounted the sacrifices made by the Ijaw people to support him during critical elections, often at great personal risk. He noted how Ijaw support was crucial for Wike during the 2015 election, and the 2019 election, where Ijaw communities faced military intimidation yet remained steadfast.
He also recalled how the Ijaw people had to rally around Wike during his conflicts with former Governor Rotimi Amaechi and how prominent Ijaw figures and communities backed Wike despite having their own capable candidates.
“The 2015 election was particularly tough due to the emergence of APC in Nigeria and in Rivers State as a strong force. At that time, the former Governor Amaechi had moved from PDP to APC and presented Dakuku Peterside, a prominent Ijaw son, to contest the election.
“This notwithstanding, we abandoned our son, Dakuku and supported Wike. Secondly, the election was very fierce in Okrika and the Kalabari areas and could have stopped Wike from becoming the governor, but the Ijaw people stood face to face with the military with guns and, in some points, confronted them even with women going nude to pursue the Wike election.”
Clark, however, expressed disappointment over Wike’s ongoing disputes with Governor Fubara, whom Wike had chosen as his successor.
Recently, Wike admitted to the people of Rivers State that he had made a mistake and was ready to correct it at the appropriate time; however, he did not specify if Fubara was the mistake.
“I want to say this clearly: in life, we have made a mistake. I have made a mistake. I own it up and I say God forgives me. I have said all of you to forgive me. But we will correct it at the appropriate time,” he declared.
He added, “I am a human; I am bound to make a mistake. So forgive me for making a wrong judgement. So nobody should kill.”
