Fubara has the upper hand — Chukwuani

Dr Prince Chudi Chukwuani is a former national chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDP). In this interview, the political economist speaks on the current imbroglio involving the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, declaring that the APC is right in recognising Fubara as the leader in the state, adding that minister has created and island and got himself stranded there. Excerpts.

There are insinuations that the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike might have lost control of the APC structure in Rivers State to Fubara. What is your view?

Well, I guess it is clear. I don’t know how you can be in another party and try to control the APC at the national level. I think the APC leadership will frown very seriously at that. You cannot claim to be in PDP and then say you want to control the APC at the national level. I believe Wike has lost the battle there and it was made very clear to him by the national secretary of APC.

Further to that, when Wike was the governor of Rivers State, he was the leader of the party that he belonged to as the governor. He was the leader of PDP in Rivers State and nobody contested that with him. Now, Fubara has been able to out-manoeuvre him by defecting to APC.

When Fubara, as the governor of River State, defected to APC, he became the leader of APC in the state. It would be extremely strange and odd for somebody that is in PDP to now come and become the leader of APC, the ruling party of which the governor of that state is a member in that state. I think this is just a classical political manoeuvring and you should just accept the fact that Fubara has manoeuvred him in this score and that’s where it ends.

Fubara is the leader of APC in River State. Anybody contesting that is wasting their time. When they call a leadership meeting in Abuja at the national level of APC, Fubara will be the one representing River State and nobody else. When they have their caucus meeting, it is Fubara that will be seated there as the leader of the party of APC in River State. So, Wike has found himself in what we describe as a no man’s land, which he created. He created an island for himself and got himself stranded in that island.

So, he’s on a no man’s land island. That’s where he is politically as of this moment.

What is the implication for Wike given that APC national officers don’t see him as a member of the party?

Wike is nowhere. He’s neither here or there. He cannot claim to control PDP. He fractured PDP. When PDP finally gets their act together, Wike will not be part of that PDP. In APC, Wike is not a member of APC. So, APC officials see him completely as a non-member which is right. He cannot be the leader of the party in the state when there’s a governor in the state who is an APC member.

So, on that score, his fate is sealed. His political standing is completely zero. Whatever he wants to say, he can say. But you should also remember that Tinubu understands politics and Tinubu knows that he’s gone. He is of no political value anymore.

Is there any precedence where an individual seeks to straddle the power dynamics of two geopolitical zones? I think there was a big man that tried to do that. From that same inquiry in those days, I think his name was Sergeant Awuse. So, this is not the first time it has happened before. And if you remember the case of Rotimi Amaechi, the same thing occurred in that dynamics in the same South-South zone. Amaechi left and went to suck his wound, because if he had played his card well, he would have been the one that would have been the godfather of APC in River State, having served as a minister under the APC government for about eight years. But he got schemed out. Rotimi is not complaining. He just went and he’s licking his wounds somewhere. So, Wike should learn to lick his wounds. He’s not the first person that that has happened to.

It has happened to his boss. Because Rotimi Amaechi, no matter what he says, was his boss. He made him whatever he became. And that’s about the end of that story.

Is there any chance for Wike to gain his influence in the APC?

Wike is not in APC. So, what influence does he have in APC? So, what he needs to do is to, first of all is, lead the delegation, buy big cows, kegs of palm wine, a dancing troupe with his hyper, and go and dance and kneel down for the leader of the party in River State, which is Fubara and beg him that he wants to belong to APC. And if Fubara is foolish enough, he will now allow him to come into APC. He will now go and register at his ward in River State to become a member of APC.

And then maybe when he does that, he will be able to have any kind of influence in APC. But it is he who has to go and kneel down and dobaale, you know, for Fubara. Fubara is the leader now. So, he has to go and dobaale.

But Fubara, being a very strategic man, as I have seen him, will not give him that opportunity. I think Fubara knows that he’s gone, and he’s completely gone.

Was it right for Fubara to have joined APC without recourse to Wike, knowing the minister’s influence in his emergence as governor?

When Fubara emerged as governor, both Wike and Fubara were in PDP, and Fubara contested and won the governorship of River State under the PDP, and Wike then was the governor of River State and the leader of PDP in River State at that time. Now that Fubara has joined APC, Wike is of no relevance.

The only person that is of relevance is Uzodimma, who the president, prior to Fubara defecting, the president had nominated Uzodimma as the coordinator of all the governors. You know, Fubara, being a governor, has to go to the coordinator, who is Uzodimma. So, what is Wike talking about? Doesn’t he read? That is all I think. Don’t they read? You know, don’t they know how to analyze things?

Fubara took the right path, you know, which means Fubara has some very strategic people advising him, and he took the right path, which was through Uzodimma.

Fubara being a governor, has to go through Uzodimma to enter APC, and that is exactly what he did, you know. So, they are all in that group now as governors of states. There is nothing Wike can do about that.

How realistic is the move by PDP officials to woo former President Goodluck Jonathan when Wike is there to stop such?

I think the PDP people have played themselves out. I don’t know how they can reorganize. I don’t see Jonathan running for presidency. So, that’s just a pipe dream. The constitution is very clear on that basis. He has held the presidency for almost eight years. We don’t have any provision in our constitution for a two-year presidency.

So, it doesn’t make any sense. And PDP, because of their lethargy and lack of strategy, they got themselves being played and disorganized by one single human being: Wike, who they should have sacked prior to the 2023 election, when he started doing anti-party activities.

That’s when they should have sacked him outright. But Atiku Abubakar was very weak. The chairman of the party then was very weak, you know, lacking in strategy, lacking in forward thinking. And they got PDP where PDP found themselves today where a national secretary will be contesting the leadership of the party with the national chairman.

It has never been done in any political party before. They have played themselves. And I don’t know how they can recover. And I believe it’s just karma, because PDP did it to a lot of people. And that karma has caught up with them. And that karma is about to wipe them out of the face of Nigeria. That’s the way it goes. That’s it there.

There are insinuations that the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike might have lost control of the APC structure in Rivers State to Fubara. What is your view?

Well, I guess it is clear. I don’t know how you can be in another party and try to control the APC at the national level. I think the APC leadership will frown very seriously at that. You cannot claim to be in PDP and then say you want to control the APC at the national level. I believe Wike has lost the battle there and it was made very clear to him by the national secretary of APC.

Further to that, when Wike was the governor of Rivers State, he was the leader of the party that he belonged to as the governor. He was the leader of PDP in Rivers State and nobody contested that with him. Now, Fubara has been able to out-manoeuvre him by defecting to APC.

When Fubara, as the governor of River State, defected to APC, he became the leader of APC in the state. It would be extremely strange and odd for somebody that is in PDP to now come and become the leader of APC, the ruling party of which the governor of that state is a member in that state. I think this is just a classical political manoeuvring and you should just accept the fact that Fubara has manoeuvred him in this score and that’s where it ends.

Fubara is the leader of APC in River State.  Anybody contesting that is wasting their time. When they call a leadership meeting in Abuja at the national level of APC, Fubara will be the one representing River State and nobody else.

When they have their caucus meeting, it is Fubara that will be seated there as the leader of the party of APC in River State. So, Wike has found himself in what we describe as a no man’s land, which he created. He created an island for himself and got himself stranded in that island.

So, he’s on a no man’s land island. That’s where he is politically as of this moment.

What is the implication for Wike given that APC national officers don’t see him as a member of the party?

Wike is nowhere. He’s neither here or there. He cannot claim to control PDP. He fractured PDP. When PDP finally gets their act together, Wike will not be part of that PDP. In APC, Wike is not a member of APC. So, APC officials see him completely as a non-member which is right. He cannot be the leader of the party in the state when there’s a governor in the state who is an APC member.

So, on that score, his fate is sealed. His political standing is completely zero. Whatever he wants to say, he can say. But you should also remember that Tinubu understands politics and Tinubu knows that he’s gone. He is of no political value anymore.

Is there any precedence where an individual seeks to straddle the power dynamics of two geopolitical zones?

I think there was a big man that tried to do that. From that same inquiry in those days, I think his name was Sergeant Awuse. So, this is not the first time it has happened before. And if you remember the case of Rotimi Amaechi, the same thing occurred in that dynamics in the same South-South zone. Amaechi left and went to suck his wound, because if he had played his card well, he would have been the one that would have been the godfather of APC in River State, having served as a minister under the APC government for about eight years. But he got schemed out. Rotimi is not complaining. He just went and he’s licking his wounds somewhere. So, Wike should learn to lick his wounds. He’s not the first person that that has happened to.

It has happened to his boss. Because Rotimi Amaechi, no matter what he says, was his boss. He made him whatever he became. And that’s about the end of that story.

Is there any chance for Wike to gain his influence in the APC?

Wike is not in APC. So, what influence does he have in APC? So, what he needs to do is to, first of all is, lead the delegation, buy big cows, kegs of palm wine, a dancing troupe with his hyper, and go and dance and kneel down for the leader of the party in River State, which is Fubara and beg him that he wants to belong to APC. And if Fubara is foolish enough, he will now allow him to come into APC. He will now go and register at his ward in River State to become a member of APC.

And then maybe when he does that, he will be able to have any kind of influence in APC. But it is he who has to go and kneel down and dobaale, you know, for Fubara. Fubara is the leader now.

So, he has to go and dobaale.

But Fubara, being a very strategic man, as I have seen him, will not give him that opportunity. I think Fubara

knows that he’s gone, and he’s completely gone.

Was it right for Fubara to have joined APC without recourse to Wike, knowing the minister’s influence in his emergence as governor?

When Fubara emerged as governor, both Wike and Fubara were in PDP, and Fubara contested and won the governorship of River State under the PDP, and Wike then was the governor of River State and the leader of PDP in River State at that time. Now that Fubara has joined APC, Wike is of no relevance. The only person that is of relevance is Uzodimma, who the president, prior to Fubara defecting, the president had nominated Uzodimma as the coordinator of all the governors. You know, Fubara, being a governor, has to go to the coordinator, who is Uzodimma.

So, what is Wike talking about? Doesn’t he read? That is all I think. Don’t they read? You know, don’t they know how to analyze things?

Fubara took the right path, you know, which means Fubara has some very strategic people advising him, and he took the right path, which was through Uzodimma.

Fubara being a governor, has to go through Uzodimma to enter APC, and that is exactly what he did, you know. So, they are all in that group now as governors of states. There is nothing Wike can do about that.

How realistic is the move by PDP officials to woo former President Goodluck Jonathan when Wike is there to stop such?

I think the PDP people have played themselves out. I don’t know how they can reorganize. I don’t see Jonathan running for presidency. So, that’s just a pipe dream. The constitution is very clear on that basis. He has held the presidency for almost eight years. We don’t have any provision in our constitution for a two-year presidency. So, it doesn’t make any sense. And PDP, because of their lethargy and lack of strategy, they got themselves being played and disorganized by one single human being: Wike, who they should have sacked prior to the 2023 election, when he started doing anti-party activities. That’s when

they should have sacked him outright. But Atiku Abubakar was very weak. The chairman of the party then was very weak, you know, lacking in strategy, lacking in forward thinking. And they got PDP where PDP found themselves today where a national secretary will be contesting the leadership of the party with the national chairman. It has never been done in any political party before.

They have played themselves. And I don’t know how they can recover. And I believe it’s just karma, because PDP did it to a lot of people. And that karma has caught up with them. And that karma is about to wipe them out of the face of Nigeria. That’s the way it goes. That’s it there.

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