A former Federal Commissioner for Information and South South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark has taken a swipe at the National chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Abdullahi Ganduje and the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Amb. Umar Damagum, accusing them of planning with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, Nyesom Wike, to sabotage the elected government of Rivers State and the governor, Siminalayi Fubara.
The Ijaw National Leader has called on both the National Working Committee (NWC), the National Executive Committee (NEC), and their parties and stakeholders to call both Ganduje and Damagum to order.
In a letter dated May 20, 2024, addressed to both Chairmen of the APC and PDP, the Leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, urged them to call Wike to order against the backdrop that he is dancing naked in the open market in the politics of what he described as madness in Rivers State with one leg each in the two parties.
Clark, who asked why Ganduje has chosen to deal with a caretaker committee of the APC that is loyal to the former Rivers State Governor, knowing full well that there is an existing elected executive and pushing it behind the background,.
According to the Leader of the Southern and Middle-Belt Leaders Forum, SMBLF, the support given to Wike by both party chairmen has made him courageous enough to intimidate and anger the Rivers State Governor and the government, stressing that this is seen as an act to overthrow the duly elected governor, which is criminal.
Clark is therefore appealing to both Chairmen, in the interest of peace and stability in Nigeria, to disassociate themselves from what he termed, the diabolical and mischievous plan by Wike for no just cause to bring down the government of his successor, Governor Fubara, adding that they retrace their steps and take charge of their political parties in Rivers State, not leaving it for Wike, who is neither PDP nor APC.
He also lampooned Ganduje and Damagum, accusing them of deliberately breaching two important sections of their party constitution, which say that when a position is vacant in the NWC, the replacement should come from the same zone as the person who left the office, but both of them are from the North West, whereas the former National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, and Iyorchia Ayu are from the North Central, adding that like their Godfather, they do not believe in law and order, but confusion.
Clark’s letter read, “As a patriotic old statesman, I strongly believe that I should address this letter to you to call to order FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, because he is dancing naked in the open market in the politics of madness in Rivers State with one leg each in the two parties. I know both of you are fully aware of and involved in the political crisis in Rivers State, which is caused by Wike, who is controlling the two parties in Rivers State, particularly the PDP.
I strongly advise both of you to withdraw from the madness of politics in Rivers State to avoid the dangerous crisis facing Rivers State, one of the most important states producing the resources used to sustain the economy of this country. I hope you do not forget that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the deep seaport of Onne are very well established in Rivers State.
How can the Federal Government and the two main political parties allow an individual to disrupt and cause confusion, harassment of the democratically elected governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, on the guise that he alone and not the people of Rivers State made Fubara Governor, in his provocative and inciting statement?
“He apologized to the Rivers People for choosing Fubara to become Governor of Rivers State at Ogu town in Ogu-Bolo LGA. In addressing the lawmaker representing Ogu-Bolo constituency in the House of Assembly who defected from PDP to APC, Wike declared, “Let me say this clearly, Arnold, don’t be frightened that anybody will remove you as an assembly member. Most of you don’t understand, this is our work. What I am doing is making them fail and angry. I have no other job than to make them angry every day, to make mistakes every day, and to get them in trouble every day. So don’t worry yourselves.
If they like, they can go to anybody by 2am or 4am to get injunction. The law will take its cause. We are not afraid, we followed due process, we must follow due process, we are not going to harm anybody, we are not going to give money to anybody to buy arms and kill anybody. We won’t do that.”
Nyesom Wike aggressively boasted that nobody can remove the member representing Ogu-Bolo Constituency.
“Therefore, one is tempted to guess what this dangerous, diabolical and mischievous politician can do to breach the constitution and cause a breakdown in law and order in the country. He is not in a position to amend section 109 (1g) of the constitution and he is not in a position to undermine the Supreme Court judgment, which has now been firmly accepted as precedent and binds all Courts in Nigeria.
Listening to Wike, who is the self-imposed leader of the party PDP and the champion of madness in Rivers politics, is also controlling the ruling party APC by appointing a caretaker committee under the former Chief of Staff to Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Tony Okocha, while he is not the legitimate chairman of APC in Rivers State. The legitimate Chairman Emeka Beke was suspended and was replaced with Chief Tony Okocha, because of his close relationship with the Leader of APC in the state, in person, Rt Hon Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi. Chief Tonye Cole, the APC gubernatorial candidate in Rivers State, also belongs to the elected executives. Nyesom Wike ,in order to impress the Presidency and APC in Abuja, decided to create the Chief Tony Okocha led caretaker committee, with which he now deals with the APC in Rivers State, with the approval of the National Chairman of APC.
“One may be tempted to ask the National Chairman of APC why he chose to deal with a caretaker committee of APC, which the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, had earlier presented to him in the APC secretariat in Abuja before constituting it as a caretaker committee. But curiously, you now deal with a caretaker committee instead of the elected Chairman. I hope you are aware of the court action filed against you and APC by the elected Chairman of APC in Rivers State, Emeka Beke.
The old APC members by law are the APC leaders because they were never removed before the illegal caretaker committee was imposed on Rivers State, who are loyalists to Wike. The legally constituted executives are in court, challenging the imposition of the caretaker committee on Rivers State chapter of the APC by the NWC.
“By his statements, he made it very clear that he is at work in Rivers State to intimidate, harass, disorganise the state in order to replace Governor Fubara with the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon Martins Amaewhule, through impeachment. In his usual contradiction, he stated at a new year banquet on Sunday, January 7, 2024, in his massive building standing tall in a large expanse of land, that this trouble between him and the elected governor started when the governor and others planned to remove Hon. Amewhule as speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and Wike reacted by saying that you can’t do that to an Obiakpo son. Meanwhile, he had held meetings with his loyal 27 members of the House to impeach the newly elected Governor of Rivers State.
The House met at an ungodly hour at 7 a.m., and 23 members signed the notice of impeachment against the Governor as part of the arrangement. The 27 members again met at the same venue on December 11, 2023, and defected en mass to the APC, singing APC songs and waving APC flags. Both of you were part of this wicked arrangement made by Wike. Indeed, that was the day the almighty Wike wanted to install an APC Government in Rivers State to show President Bola Tinubu how influential he was in Rivers State.
“My dear Chairmen, both of you have deliberately breached two important sections of your party constitution, which say that when a position is vacant in the NWC, the replacement should come from the same zone of the person who left the office, but both of you are from the North West, whereas, your former National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu and Iyorchia Ayu are from the North Central. Like your God-father, you do not believe in law and order but in confusion.
“The support given to Nyesom Wike by both party Chairmen has made him courageous enough to intimidate and anger the Rivers State Governor and Government and this is seen as an act to overthrow the duly elected Governor, which is criminal.
“Finally, I am therefore appealing to you, in the interest of peace and stability in Nigeria, to disassociate yourselves from the diabolical and mischievous plan by Wike for no just cause to bring down the Government of his successor, Governor Fubara. I strongly advice both of you to retrace your steps and take charge of your political parties in Rivers State, not leaving it for Wike, who is neither PDP nor APC. “
