Wike, Fubara Fight For Soul Of PDP In Rivers

The political camps of Chief Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the Governor of Rivers State, have continued to fight over who takes control of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State.
Just as the party got set to hold its ward congresses in the state on Saturday, the Fubara camp secured an order from a Rivers State High Court to stop the congress. Consequent upon the court order the, the National Working Committee of the PDP suspended the congresses in Rivers State and dissolved the Caretaker Committee of the party in the state.
Before the suspended congresses, the Fubara camp had asked its supporters to boycott the congresses. The Wike camp, whose members constituted the caretaker committees of the party at both the state and the local government levels, were upbeat about the congresses. They were all over the social teasing the Fubara camp about their control of the party.
Mr. Awiate Olungwe, a top member of the Wike camp, had challenged those in the Fubara camp, who belong to the Simplified Movement, to show up at the congresses if they thought they were in charge.
The dissolution of the caretaker committees of the PDP in the state by the NWC has further created a new twist in the control of the party in the state.
Governor Fubara was elected on the platform of the PDP in 2023. But his falling out with Wike, who was his godfather, led to a division within the party. While Wike kept a hold on the party at the national and state levels, Fubara had been trying hard to take assert his authority over the party in the state.
Meanwhile, the two camps have been running parallel houses of assembly and local government caretaker committees.
Last week the tensions between the camps took a violent dimension when alleged supporters of the FCT Minister attacked two gatherings involving the Caretaker Committees of Ikwerre Local Government at Omerelu and Obio/Akpor Local Government at Eliozu.
Though no live was lost, the attacks left many people injured and so many vehicles damaged. At Eliozu where the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Oreh, was billed to visit thugs invaded the place and attacked people that came to receive medical attention.
Addressing a press conference in Port Harcourt on Friday, the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) members, comprising chairmen of caretaker committees in the 23 local government areas loyal to Fubara, said they would remain peaceful “in the face of unwarranted provocation, and to dispense the local government funds in line with the local government laws for the overall benefit of our people.”
They also expressed worries at “the increasing involvement of police officers in the escalation of hostilities against members of the caretaker committees by the immediate past chairmen of local government councils, and their violent and armed agents, whose intentions have been to cause anarchy and engineer a climate of lawlessness in the State.
“While condemning the rising attacks on CTC chairmen and supporters of the State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the ALGON members cautioned those involved in perpetrating acts of violence and intimidation in the State, to desist forthwith, and toe the path of peace, saying that their desperation was becoming unacceptable to the generality of Rivers people.”