Top leaders of the All Progressives Congress have declared support for the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, amid renewed hostilities between him and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The National Secretary of the APC, Ajibola Basiru, in an interview with Sunday PUNCH, said Fubara had the full support of the party for his re-election campaign.
“Nobody can frustrate any APC governor. Fubara, like other APC governors, is running the affairs of his state well,” he added.
Fubara defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the ruling APC on December 9, a move widely regarded as a political realignment for his second-term ambition.
His defection came shortly after 17 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly also joined the APC.
The National Chairman of the APC, Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, had also declared Fubara as the leader of the party in the state.
Yilwatda, who spoke on Channels Television’s Hard Copy programme aired on Friday, said, “Governor Fubara is the leader of the APC in Rivers State, but he would need to coordinate with every other person in the state.”
Renewed rift
The governor’s defection heightened the tension between him and Wike, as the FCT minister declared that Fubara’s second term was not guaranteed even under the APC.
The FCT minister had accused Fubara of breaching the peace agreement reached between them and warned against what he described as “opportunistic politics.”
Speaking during his monthly media chat, Wike had insisted that Fubara’s defection to the APC didn’t make the governor the party leader in the state.
He boasted that he remained the leader of politics in Rivers, adding that his supporters controlled the local governments and ward structures across the state.
Apparently responding to Wike’s criticism, Fubara, at a public function aired by Arise TV, said he was blackmailed in several places.
“The only reason the dog barks is when it doesn’t understand. We know where we are going and have set all the things that are needed to make the journey smooth,” he added.
Wike can’t decide for APC – Party official
However, a national official of the APC said the FCT minister could not determine the governor’s fate.
The top official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, maintained that Wike’s boast of having Rivers State in his pocket was not true.
“Wike is just unnecessarily agitating himself because ultimately, the decision on Rivers will be that of the President, not him. Wike is not as popular as he is claiming to be. He lost his polling unit in the last election; he lost to the Labour Party. He is just lucky that the President won and felt that he (Wike) was useful to tackle the opposition. It was a tough one winning Rivers State.
“Fubara is a governor of the APC, and the Governors’ Forum of the APC is always a major support for the party. By the rules of our party, we are going to respect the governors and give them the necessary support,” he said.
Speaking on whether the APC would give Fubara an automatic ticket for a second term, the official said the party would not impose candidates.
The national officer, however, explained that any governor seeking re-election would have a brighter chance than fresh contenders.
“The dynamics are always in favour of a sitting governor who is contesting as an incumbent. It is an elementary political thing, unless maybe critical stakeholders at the national level feel otherwise. An incumbent governor stands a better chance than people who are just coming from outside to challenge.
“As far as Rivers is concerned, the state is more or less becoming a one-party state for APC. Even in Ekiti State, some people purchased forms to contest against the governor, but some of them did not scale through proper nomination. The others that scaled through stepped down, and the governor was adopted as a consensus candidate,” he added.
We will support Fubara, others – APC
Also commenting on the matter, Basiru told one of our correspondents that the party identified with Fubara.
He noted that the mandate of the National Working Committee of the APC was to rally round the governors and strengthen the party’s structure across the country.
Basiru said the party would support Fubara.
He said, “He is running the government, building projects and commissioning projects. As somebody who is a member of our party, the party must identify with him. And that is why we identify with him. So, whatever other politics there are, I do not want to get involved.
“What I know is that he is a governor on the platform of our party, and he has been appointed as a member of an important committee by President Bola Tinubu to work for the party. Just like in every particular context, not everybody will be happy with you, and it does not matter. It is God who gives power, and the people will determine at the appropriate time where they want to go.
“But as a party, we are still duty-bound to identify with all the governors. I am still bound to identify with and support all members of our party. I attend every programme and activity where my party is involved. I am bound to strengthen and support our party.”
Commenting on the remarks made by the National Vice Chairman of the APC, South-South Zone, Victor Giadom, Basiru cautioned APC leaders against making derogatory remarks about any of the party’s governors.
“I find it unfortunate that a member of the NWC, who is the Vice Chairman of the South-South zone of the APC, was referring to a governor in our party as a ‘so-called governor of Rivers State’. 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.
“Even if the governor is not in our party, you can’t refer to an elected governor as a ‘so-called governor’ in order to please anybody. The office of the governor is an exalted position, and whoever is occupying it must be respected, irrespective of whatever political differences you have or whatever animosity exists between them,” he said.
Similarly, the Deputy National Organising Secretary of the APC, Duru Eze, stated that Fubara and other governors had the backing of the President, the APC NWC and the National Executive Committee.
He also affirmed that Fubara and the others would enjoy the same rights and privileges as all party members.
“The leader of the party is President Bola Tinubu. Each of the governors who have come to the party first subscribed to the APC’s constitution and our manifesto.
“They have also received the endorsement of the President, and by extension, that of the NEC and NWC of the party. So, Fubara, other governors and others will get all the necessary support to succeed,” he added.
Also, the Director of Publicity of the party, Bala Ibrahim, noted that Fubara would enjoy the party’s support.
“Not just Fubara, all governors and others joining the APC are doing so because of the achievements of President Bola Tinubu through the Renewed Hope Agenda. They are supporting the President and the party.
“As a result, they will enjoy all the necessary support at all levels because they are now part of the progressives working for the development of Nigeria,” he stated.
Presidency to decide Fubara’s fate – Rivers APC
This was as the Rivers State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Chibike Ikenga, said only Tinubu and the national leadership of the APC would decide Fubara’s re-election.
Ikenga, who spoke with Sunday PUNCH, said Fubara’s admission into the party was sanctioned at the highest level, stressing that only the national authorities could determine his political fate.
“We allowed him (Fubara) to join the party; the President allowed him to join, and the President is the leader and controls the party. So, at that level, they know what he deserves, and once we get the directive from there, we will hit the road,” he said.
Ikenga acknowledged that Wike played a key role in Fubara’s emergence as governor, but argued that political disagreements were not unusual and were being addressed by party leaders.
Dismissing suggestions that Wike could influence the APC’s governorship ticket in Rivers State, Ikenga noted that the former governor was not a member of the party.
“Wike is not a member of the APC and he is not contesting the governorship seat in the state, so why do people want to jump the gun?” Ikenga asked.
Wike has no power to block Fubara’s re-election – Rivers elders
Speaking on the crisis, a member of the state Elders and Leaders Council and pioneer spokesman of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, accused Wike of working to frustrate Fubara’s political future.
He warned Wike against playing God with the destiny of the people of the state, insisting that the final decision rests with the people of the state, not any political figure.
He accused Wike of undermining democratic processes in the state, claiming that his actions had consistently generated tension within and outside his party.
Sara-Igbe said, “The minister has said that Fubara joining the APC does not guarantee him an automatic ticket, and it looks as if he is trying to block Fubara from getting re-elected. But Wike can try his best; it is the people who will decide who becomes the governor. It is the electorate that will decide.
“My advice is that he should learn from Malami (former Minister of Justice) and others. He should remember that a day will come when the tide will be against him.”
Another member of the council, Chief Asukewe Iko-Awaji, dismissed claims that Wike could determine Fubara’s political future.
He said, “The only person who has the power to stop Fubara is God. So, what Wike is saying is just a cock-and-bull story.”
Iko-Awaji lamented the impact of the political crisis on governance in Rivers State, blaming it on Wike’s conduct and warning that the people would resist any candidate imposed on them.
“We have lost six months of democratic governance. We are six months behind every other state because of Wike’s immaturity. Rivers people will never forget the man who did that to them. So, if he brings any candidate, we will reject him and his candidate,” he said.
Fubara, a mistake that should not happen again – Wike
However, the FCT minister has insisted that Fubara will not be re-elected as the state governor.
Wike, while addressing hundreds of his supporters during his visit to Okrika Local Government Area of the state on Saturday, described Fubara as a political “mistake” that must not be repeated, vowing to block any attempt at the governor’s re-election.
Although the FCT minister did not mention the governor by name, he warned that defecting to the APC would not guarantee an automatic ticket.
“I have said here that all those people who are shouting ‘on your mandate’—it is good to shout ‘on your mandate’. We started it in 2023 and we will continue to shout it. You that have come here to join, it will not give you an automatic ticket. If you like, carry out money and go and hire people from the North, South, West and East, you won’t get anywhere.
“I want to assure you here that we are working together. There is nothing like a party here; it is the renewed hope family. If you are not an original member of this family, we will face you on the battlefield. So, don’t say I didn’t tell you. I have told you that the mistake we made in 2023, we shall correct it for the betterment of everybody.
“We have taken the decision and there is no going back as far as Tinubu is concerned. But for the other one (Fubara’s re-election), no way, because if we make another mistake, then go and bury yourself politically. I will not allow myself to be buried. I will not allow that mistake again.
(Punch)
