The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday, said that it has written a letter to Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to appear before the recently constituted Disciplinary Committee of the party to answer petitions against him over alleged anti-party activities.
The party also described as disappointing Wike’s recent threat of setting political fire in states controlled by PDP governors who have declared support for their Rivers State counterpart, Siminalayi Fubara.
Deputy national publicity secretary of PDP, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who who disclosed this on Channels TV’s breakfast show, ‘Sunrise Daily’, said Wike should have been able to manage his words carefully, adding that the party does not support his comments.
Recall that the PDP recently inaugurated a Disciplinary Committee headed by former minister of foreign affairs, High Chief Tom Ikimi.
But, shortly after the committee’s inauguration, former national vice chairman of PDP and a member of the committee, Chief Bode George, a known Wike ally, resigned from the committee claiming that it was lopsided.
However, Wike had over the weekend threatened to cause political crisis in the respective states of the governors who decide to support Fubara against him over control of the River State PDP structure.
Recall that PDP Governors’ Forum had during their recent meeting in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, declared support for Fubara, who has been having a running political battle with the minister.
But, addressing the PDP stakeholders during the party’s state congress in Port Harcourt on Saturday, Wike said: “Let me assure you, not while we live, will anybody take away the PDP structure from us.
“Let me tell you people; I hear that there are some governors who said they will take away the structure and give to somebody. I pity those governors because I will put fire in their states.
“When God has given you peace, you said you don’t want peace; whatever you see, you take.”
Reacting, however, the deputy national publicity secretary of the party disclosed that Wike is one of those whom party members have written petitions against for alleged anti-party activities, adding that the committee “has written him a letter inviting him over,” to appear before them.
“We have received petitions with regards to anti-party on those sabotaging the party all through the primaries leading up to where we are today. Those petitions have been aggregated across the country.”
When asked specifically about petitions against Wike, he revealed that party members felt Wike should not have gotten this far still as a member of the party.
He added, “Nyesom Wike is one of the persons expected to face that committee which is headed by no less a person than High Chief Tom Ikimi.”
He said the current party leadership should be given credit for “being able to navigate the waters by not sanctioning people without giving them an opportunity of fair hearing” as against what happened under the immediate-past national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
On the recent threat by Wike against governors over the River crisis, Abdullahi said: “He (Wike) was referring to something and it was clear for everybody to see that he was referring to the governor of Bauchi State over his interference in the congress in the determination of the congress in Rivers State. I don’t know if Wike will be fair to himself if he expects the governor of Bauchi, who is the chairman of the governors forum and the leader of the PDP going forward to keep quiet in the issues affecting Rivers State because that is one of our states and we worked so hard to get that state. Wike should have been able to manage his words carefully.
“It was a very disappointing remark, we were not expecting him to say that and we are not with him on that.”
When asked if the party was on the side of Bauchi State governor on the matter, he said, “We are with Wike and everybody. What we are saying is that that is a very bad statement for Wike to make and we are not in support of it.”
On resolving the crisis in the party, he said PDP has handled more delicate issues in the past, adding that the current impasse is “one of them and we will go past it.”
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