Daud Olatunji
In the midst of the escalating political crisis in Rivers State, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has taken a firm stand on the importance of maintaining his political base for relevance.
With ongoing discussions about the potential impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the oil-rich state is embroiled in turmoil, and Wike, a former Rivers State Governor, has emphasized the significance of retaining his political stronghold.
Addressing a gathering of South-South leaders at his office on Tuesday, Wike staunchly defended his position, asserting that losing his political base would render him politically irrelevant.
He made it clear that no amount of criticism or slander would deter him from his commitment to upholding the principles of justice and fairness.
“All of us want to be politically relevant; all of us want to maintain our political structure,” the minister emphasized during the meeting.
“Is it not your political structure? Will you allow anybody to just cut you out immediately? Everybody has a base. If you take my base, am I not politically irrelevant?”
The rift between Wike and Governor Fubara has escalated in recent days, particularly with the looming threat of Fubara’s impeachment. Some have accused Wike of being the mastermind behind the impeachment plot, further intensifying the situation.
The Rivers Assembly Complex also experienced a chaotic episode when a section of it caught fire on Sunday night, followed by a dramatic removal of principal officers in the Assembly with gunshots ringing out on Monday morning.
Governor Fubara personally visited the complex on Monday to assess the extent of the damage and alleged that he had been shot at by the police, an allegation currently under investigation by the authorities.
Both Wike and Fubara are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
However, Wike believes that internal conflicts are inherent to the political landscape and should be resolved through the party’s established mechanisms.
“In politics, there are a lot of internal wranglings,” he commented. “But to come out and say, ‘Oh, they want to do this against me, it will not work.’ I had every power then to say where this thing is going. So, when things are wrong, you ask questions.
” It is a party affair. The party knows how they resolve their own mechanism; it is not an ethnic affair. Our party is coming to it, that is what I will say. Every politician has his own interest,” the former governor added.
As the Rivers crisis deepens, all eyes are on the political developments in the state, as leaders grapple with the challenge of maintaining their political relevance in the face of internal turmoil and external pressures.
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