Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has criticised Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for his verbal attack on his deputy, Philip Shaibu.
Remember how Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike criticized Shaibu for threatening to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the Edo chapter’s crisis?
Wike, who spoke at the opening of the Eastern Bypass Road project in Port Harcourt on Saturday, called Shaibu an ingrate for criticizing the party’s national leadership on the issue.
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Governor Obaseki characterized the attack against Shaibu in a statement posted on Anaedoonline.ng on Monday and signed by his spokesman, Crusoe Osagie, as “very sad and absolutely uncalled for.”
The governor called on the PDP’s national leadership to summon Wike, saying the opposition party is not his personal property.
In a recent interview, Obaseki acknowledged that the concerns expressed by his deputy were relevant and needed to be rectified in the party’s best interests.
Instead of launching an unnecessary blistering assault, the governor stated his River state colleague should have sought out to him to voice his worries about my deputy governor’s views.
“His Excellency, Governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Nyesom Wike’s recent personal assaults on my Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu, is, to say the least, exceedingly sad and absolutely uncalled for,” the statement says.
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“If Governor Wike was someone who is known for treating his fellow governors with respect and decency, he would have come out to me to express his concerns about the opinions expressed by my deputy governor, rather than launching this gratuitous public assault.”
“My deputy governor was a former National President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), and his response encapsulates the spirit of the country’s young, who are willing to speak up and challenge the established quo.” How can Governor Wike strive to lead the Nigerian young if he doesn’t understand and respond appropriately to their style and character?
“His Excellency, Governor Wike should have taken a cue from the manner in which the National Chairman of our party, Sen. Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, responded to my deputy’s remarks, as a conscientious leader who is able to show empathy and consideration.
“The concerns expressed by my deputy governor bordered on pertinent issues affecting the PDP in Edo State which since the September 19th 2020 elections, has been able to register over 500,000 members; and till date, these new members have not been properly integrated into our party after two years.”
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He continued: “Also, the leaders, executives and members who came with me into the party have still not been accepted, integrated or harmonized into the party.
“More worrisome is the fact that old members of Edo PDP, who are open to inclusion and supportive of building a large party are being vilified and ostracized by a cabal purportedly led by Chief Dan Orbih, who is your perpetual guest in Port Harcourt and is remotely used to orchestrate the destabilization of the party in Edo State.
“It is necessary to recall at this point that a political solution gave rise to the emergence of Chief Dan Orbih first as Acting and then as Substantive National Vice Chairman, South-South, of our party, when Chief Emma Odidi resigned that position to allow Chief Orbih to ascend.
“It is, therefore, curious why this type of political solution is no longer tenable to resolve the political impasse in Edo State PDP.
“We can categorically state that in the comments of the deputy governor, he at no point threatened the party as Governor Wike has alleged. Rather, it is Governor Wike, who has at different times, threatened the PDP, some of these instances include:
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1. On September 16, 2018, Governor Wike threatened the party that there would be grave consequences if it moved the National Convention from Port Harcourt in the run up to the 2019 presidential election.
2. On September 12, 2019, Governor Wike also threatened to cause trouble for the party over the emergence of Hon. Ndudi Elumelu as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.”
Noting that Governor Wike has contributed to the advancement of the party, just like others, since 1999, he stressed: “No one is against his desire to run for president, however, his ambition should not be embarked on in such a way that it would cause disruption at different levels, such as the PDP Governors’ Forum as well as different chapters of the party across the country.
“It clearly amounts to delusion of grandeur, for any one man to nurse the idea that he owns or has more stake in the PDP and everyone should pander to him.
“We are all equal stakeholders in the party and an aggregate of the ideas, opinions and contributions of all leaders and members should form the position of the party and not the view of one individual or a select few.
“While Governor Wike is free to use his resources as he deems fit in pursuit of his ambition, he should not attempt to cow, intimidate, cajole and threaten others into doing his bidding. Edo State cannot and will not be procured for anyone’s personal ambition.
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“What Nigeria needs now are strong democratic institutions and not strong men; that is why we will join the great leaders of our party across the country to build PDP into a strong, large and indomitable party that will win next year’s presidential election.
“Governor Wike and his collaborators headed by Chief Dan Orbih in Edo State will not succeed in destabilizing the PDP in Edo State as they did other states like Cross River just to secure delegates to actualize his alleged personal ambition to run for presidency in 2023.”
According to the governor, “In Edo, we don’t accept political bullies and overlords and historically, we have demonstrated our capacity to unshackle ourselves and dethrone bullies and highhanded leaders.
“I appeal to all well-meaning leaders of our great party to call Governor Wike to order to desist from his current unguarded and disruptive tendencies. From all indications today, PDP is set to take over the leadership of Nigeria provided we can rein in the self interest of a few leaders to put the task of rescuing Nigeria above their personal ambitions.”
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