Will Rivers’ Political Crisis Divide APC?

The statement by the National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Ajibola Basiru, accusing the party’s National Vice Chairman, South-South, Victor Giadom of disrespecting Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State to please ‘someone’ was an indication that the crisis that destablised the Peoples Democratic Party might spill into the APC. Can the ruling party check external forces and maintain discipline among its members? Ejiofor  Alike  asks

Recent developments from the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State suggest that the internal crisis that engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) might gradually spill into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Indications to this effect emerged when the National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru, warned the party’s National Vice Chairman, South-south, Victor Giadom, to stop disrespecting the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara to please “someone”.

The APC national scribe was obviously referring to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

The FCT minister, a chieftain of the PDP, had been accused by the leaders of the PDP of fuelling a crisis in the main opposition party to facilitate President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the 2027 general election.

However, attention shifted to the APC when Wike’s political godson, Fubara defected from the PDP to the APC, reigniting the feud between him and the minister, who claimed that they reached an agreement that the governor would serve for only one term of four years.

During his defection, Fubara, who was issued with APC membership card number: 001, declared that he was now the leader of the party in the state.

But Wike mocked him, insisting that “defecting to another party does not make you the leader.”

The minister added: “See, leadership is not because ‘I’m a governor.’ Leadership is not because ‘I’m a minister.’ You must have something that makes you a leader. Who is the leader of APC in Lagos State? There are exceptions to rules.”

The former Rivers State governor boasted that he remained the leader of politics in the state, claiming that his supporters control the local governments and ward structures across the state.

However, in line with the practice of the ruling party, its National Chairman, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, clarified that Fubara, as the serving governor, was the leader of the party in the state.

Following the speculations that Fubara was nursing a second-term ambition under his new party, the APC, Wike launched fresh state-wide campaign against the governor, declaring that his political career would suffer irreparable damage if he secures a second term in office.

While some APC governors and national leaders see Wike’s actions as meddling in the affairs of the ruling party, which he is not a member, the FCT minister has also warned them not to interfere in the politics of Rivers State.

Giadom provoked the ire of the APC national secretary when he described Fubara in a very condescending manner.

While concluding his speech during Wike’s visit to his Gokana Local Government Area (LGA), Giadom, who is an ally of the FCT minister said: “And to reassure you that Gokana is a no-go area for anybody – be it the so-called governor of Rivers State; for him to win anything in Gokana, he must pass through Wike. Thank you.”

Reacting, the APC national secretary warned the party’s chieftain to stop disrespecting the governor, who is a member of the party.

Basiru said it was unfortunate that a member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party was referring to a governor in the party as a ‘so-called governor of Rivers State’ to please someone.

“No matter what his allegiances are to anybody, it is unbecoming of somebody holding such a sensitive position, and it should not be encouraged by anybody,” he warned.

In a swift response, a visibly angry Wike warned Basiru, to “leave Rivers State alone,” or get his fingers burnt.

Apparently referring to Basiru, the FCT minister alleged that some leaders had received some funds from the N600 billion sum left in the state’s coffers.

“I say it here, take this message to your National Secretary; leave Rivers State alone. Go and ask those who have done it before. Please don’t take our support for Mr President for granted. You have to be careful with the statements you make.

“Today, you are enjoying in Osun, you don’t know those who did the work. You are opening your mouth to talk about Rivers State. Anything you see, take it.

“Go and ask other people what has happened to them before. If your hand burns, no be me burn am o. This state is a no-go area. Take the one you have taken, stop making unnecessary comments,” Wike warned the APC national secretary.

Responding to Wike’s grave threats against him, Basiru reminded the minister that he is not God and that he may be overplaying his political card.

Basiru said Wike remained a member of the opposition PDP and should not seek to exercise influence within the APC.

Basiru further alleged that the former Rivers governor was actively attempting to destabilise the APC in Rivers State.

According to him, the APC would resist any external interference designed to weaken its internal unity ahead of future political contests.

He asked Wike to resign his position as FCT minister and face his obsession with Rivers’ politics.

Basiru noted that cheap blackmail has become a stock-in-trade for Wike, dismissing the insinuation that he went to Rivers to collect money.

He further warned that Wike “cannot bring the spirit of PDP into the APC.”

In what many view as renewed efforts to frustrate Fubara’s second term bid, the members of the APC-dominated, Wike-controlled state House of Assembly on Thursday signed a notice of impeachment against the governor to be served on him within seven days.

Reacting, a faction of the state chapter of the APC in a statement signed by the party’s spokesperson, Darlington Nwauju, rejected the impeachment moves by the state lawmakers insisting that “it will be totally untenable for our party to keep quiet when an obvious hangover from strifes that occurred within the PDP are allowed to resurface in our great party.”

Responding to the verbal war between Wike and the APC leaders, the PDP stated the ruling party must face the consequences of its choices in Rivers State.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, accused the APC of knowingly embracing Wike for political advantage and now expressing discomfort because the alliance has become inconvenient.

The PDP spokesman said the APC has no moral right to complain about Wike’s action, saying that the FCT minister’s behaviour that APC criticised was previously celebrated when it served the party’s interests.

Can the APC succeed where the PDP failed by checking external forces and maintaining party discipline among the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly? Events of the next few weeks will provide answers to the question.

Notes for File

Kalu Needs to Leave Otti Alone

Perhaps in order to spite Governor Alex Otti, the senator representing Abia North in the National Assembly, Orji Uzor Kalu, recently reaffirmed his commitment to delivering the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, insisting that the party does not require the support of the governor to win elections in the state.

In a statement signed by his media aide, George Maduka, Kalu described Abia as “united and solid” with no divisions threatening its prospects.

Reaffirming his loyalty to the APC and its leadership, the statement emphasised that just as Governor Otti openly supported Labour Party’s candidates, including Peter Obi against President Bola Tinubu, Senator Kalu has openly committed to supporting President Tinubu in 2027.

Rather than focus on representing Abia North effectively, initiating laws that benefit indigenes, Kalu fanning the ember of discord in his state and heating the polity unnecessarily.

He should be ashamed that the successive PDP-led administrations ran Abia down and made the state the worst in the South-east for so many years before Otti came to power to begin the transformation of the state.

It is good that Otti has reminded him that while he managed to win his senatorial race under APC in 2023, Tinubu lost in his constituency despite the lawmaker’s claim that he worked for the then APC presidential candidate.

What the former governor is doing amounts to grandstanding. He needs to fervently pray to return to the Senate in 2027 because the people of Abia State are tired of recycled politicians like him.

What Kalu does not understand is that Governor Otti, on the strength of his goodwill and credibility with the people will play a major role in convincing the people on how they will vote. He is the leader and the people will follow his direction because he has shown himself wise, decent and committed to the greater good.

The former governor needs to know that any candidate endorsed by Otti for any position in 2027, including the Abia North senatorial slot, already has a 70% chance of victory. This will not be achieved through manipulation or fraudulent use of state resources but strictly on the strength of his good standing with the voters, his performance in office and his ties to the major stakeholders across every ward in Abia North and beyond.

Therefore, the former governor should stop distracting Otti from his developmental agenda, and refrain from turning Abia into a theatre of political battles, when other states prioritise socio-economic development.