The factional spokesman for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Ibrahim Abdulahi, has blamed the governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara for not taking the control of the party’s structure in the state when it was offered to him on a silver platter.
Abdullahi belongs to the faction of the acting national chairman of the party, Mr Illiya Damagum who is loyal to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike.
The Damagum group had, last Thursday, announced the suspension of the party’s national legal adviser, Mr Adeyemi Ajibade and the national publicity secretary, Mr Debo Ologunagba who, as members of the national working committee, have consistently opposed Damagum’s efforts to hand over the control of the Rivers PDP to Wike.
The Adeyemi/Ologunagba group had in another twist announced the suspension of Damagum and the national secretary, Mr Samuel Anyanwu, for alleged disloyalty to the PDP.
The faction also appointed the national treasurer, Mr Yayari Mohammed as acting national chairman.
Speaking in an interview, Abdullahi said the party had done everything possible for the governor but he failed to mobilise his fellow PDP governors and the NWC of the party for support.
He said when a vacancy existed for the post of the Rivers State chapter chairman of the party, the NWC requested Fubara to forward a nominee but he frittered away the opportunity and insisted that Wike should provide the nominee.
“It’s a very, very long story that we will not be able to make sense of now. The kind of opportunity given to Fubara by this party is the sort that you never imagine exist from any political party to any of its members, not a governor, not a president.
“It is the sort that you would not believe any member will enjoy, any person no matter his status, whether in former president, because if I start now talking, I’ll dig out what we have been keeping in the cooler, the opportunities, the chances, the repeated chances given to this governor for him to take the leadership and take control of the structure.
“He was the first person that came to meet this NWC when they requested for the replacement of the state’s chairman of the PDP. He said no, no, no, no, nobody should call him that they should call oga in Abuja, let oga give the person, anyone oga gives he is comfortable.
“This was the beginning of the whole of this problem. He was the one who said he cannot take decisions when Nyesom Wike is still alive. That was before the relationship went sour. So, at what point did you now stop recognizing him as your boss, that you start taking all of those decisions?
“See, why we don’t need to delve too much into the back and forth of a River State, what is important is that at the point that we have reached now, the summary of it all is that a governor with a state like Rivers, it was the same state Wike occupied that he was able to give PDP the required opposition it confronted the Buhari-led federal government for eight years.
“Fubara is sitting on that same saddle now and yet, cannot be able to rally his colleagues, governors behind him. He cannot be able to hold the National Working Committee to identify with him just because his predecessor is a minister in Abuja.
“All of us, we thought he was worthy of the attention, but the more you look the less you understand. You can’t be crying like a baby all the time. You cannot provide leadership, fight it out.
“Do you think all the governors are comfortable? Why are they in charge of their respective state except him? Something is missing about this guy. So, please, at the risk of sounding immodest, we have done the best we can do for Fubara.
“We are not supporting Wike. I have been critical of Wike, you know. Even recently, I have said that nobody can hold PDP to ransom. We are not under anybody’s pocket. It’s on record. So, I’ve said all these sort of things I would say. If I was taking a naira from Wike, I couldn’t have gone on air to say all of these things,” he said.
