Politics

Ayu: I Will Fight To Finish, Wike Insists

Published

3 years ago

September 22, 2022

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that he will not leave the Peoples Democratic Party for any reason.

The governor stated that he was rather interested in preserving the sanity of the party and would stay back to fight for the enthronement of unity, inclusivity, equity and peace in the PDP.

Wike made the declaration at the Rivers State PDP stakeholders meeting in Government House, Port Harcourt on Thursday.

The governor said he is a man of character, unlike those who cannot keep their word and walked out of the party at the Eagle Square in Abuja in 2014.

He said, “One thing I have always told people is if anybody is thinking, doing anything to think that we will leave PDP, foul.

“We will do the fight in the party. We are not like them when in 2014 they walked out of Eagle Square. They’ve forgotten. They walked out and joined APC. Is it not correct?

“Did they remain to fight inside the party? But we remained, they ran away. Now, there is a fight in the party, we will not run.

“We will fight it at this party. Those who run away from the fight are weak people. We will not. So everybody should know this is the state where we are. So that nobody tells you all kinds of stories.”

The governor insists that the constitution of the party clearly states that elective and party offices must be zoned which should be respected.

Wike wondered why the former PDP BoT chairman will be pressurised to resign and the PDP National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, is excusing himself from keeping to doing what is right.

He said, “You have taken presidential candidate, you have taken party chairman, you have also taken the D.G (director general) of the campaign. We are talking about party politics. Decisions are made by the presidential candidate, chairman of the party and the D.G of the campaign.

“They are telling you they told the chairman of the BOT to resign. So you know there is a problem. You said he should go and resign.

“You can put pressure on him to resign when his tenure hasn’t come to an end. But you cannot put pressure on the chairman to resign. You think at our level you will deceive us. You’ll tell us stories.”

Wike recalled how in 2015 the Federal Government used the military to invade Rivers State, interfered with and even annulled elections, but were resisted.

The governor said he made sure the senatorial results for Rivers East were announced that delivered Senator George Thompson Sekibo and that of Rivers West, which produced Senator Betty Apiafi.

Wike regretted that despite the risk taken to deliver them, the same people are now in Abuja plotting against him, saying they won’t succeed because God has blessed him.

The Rivers State governor also clarified that he never promised anybody a governorship ticket of the PDP despite the pressure some leaders mounted on him or attempts made to divide the State House of Assembly.

He further said though he didn’t clinch the PDP presidential ticket, he actually made a good account of himself at the primary.

The governor said by next week, the Rivers State PDP campaign team would be unveiled and the campaign pattern adopted would be based on each local government peculiarity.

Wike emphasised that all PDP candidates in the State will be returned elected by Rivers people who are satisfied with the performance of his administration.

“We will take all. We are taking all because Rivers people are happy with what we have done in this state. we have not only provided infrastructure, we have also defended the interest of Rivers State,” he stated

He explained that it took courage and firmness for him to protect the interest and assets of Rivers State without compromising it with politics.

The governor stated that there the federal government won’t be able to use the army and the police in the 2023 election, because Nigerians will vote for political parties on the basis of their performance.

Wike caution party members who want to be moles and work against the PDP because they were not given the ticket that they sought.

He urged party members to be steadfast because God is on their side, and since they have not known defeat, PDP cannot be defeated in 2023 general election in Rivers State.

In his response, State Chairman of the PDP, Amb. Desmond Akawor, said the party in the state had already passed a vote of confidence in Wike for the way he has piloted the affairs of the state.

Akawor commended the governor for the consistent delivery of projects, defending the interest of the state, and declared that they will continue to follow the leadership that he provides.

Politics

Obasanjo, Atiku, Obi Meet In Abuja

Published

19 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi met in Abuja on Saturday.

The trio were among prominent political figures who attended the Tambuwal Colloquium, titled “Leadership, Service and Statesmanship at 60,” held at the New Event Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, in honour of the 60th birthday of former Sokoto State Governor and Senator, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal.

Atiku confirmed his presence at the event in a post on his X handle, stating that he had arrived at the venue for the colloquium organised to mark Tambuwal’s milestone birthday.

The former vice president also shared images of himself, Obasanjo and Obi at the event.

The event attracted political leaders, statesmen and stakeholders from across the country.

Politics

PANDEF Wades Into Rivers Crisis, Sets Up Seven-member Mediation Team

Published

1 day ago

January 10, 2026

Editor

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has intervened in the political crisis in Rivers State, calling on all actors to sheathe their swords and embrace peace in the interest of the development of the state and the region in general.

Expressing concern that the political disagreement involving the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the State House of Assembly might degenerate to total lawlessness, the Board and National Executive Committee of PANDEF set up a seven-member reconciliation team to resolve the issues.

The team, which is headed by a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, has six other members.

They are Senator Obende Domingo (Vice Chairman); Chief Essien Nduese; Dr Timiebi Koripamo-Agari; Chief Mike Ejiofor; Mrs Nella Rabana-Andem, SAN; and Prince Godwin Okotie, the Deputy National Secretary of PANDEF, who will serve as the secretary of the team.

Politics

Wike: Why Removing Fubara Will Be Difficult – Ex-Commissioner

Published

2 days ago

January 9, 2026

Editor

A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said that attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara would be difficult to sustain, citing what he described as the governor’s performance record and the lack of concrete allegations against him.

Tam-George made the remarks on Thursday while speaking on Prime Time on Arise Television, arguing that the impeachment process being initiated against Fubara was to scuttle his chance for a second term.

According to him, Governor Fubara has continued to place the needs of the people at the centre of his administration, with visible interventions in rural development, housing, education and healthcare.

He said this, in his view, has made it difficult for opponents to justify moves to remove the governor from office.

Tam-George also called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to intervene, arguing that the party should not allow what he described as the humiliation of a sitting governor.

He said: “Well, all I think he needs to do is to do exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning, which is to place the people at the center of gravity of his administration, prioritize the needs of the people, so that the people can see the direct impact of government action in their lives.

“And that’s exactly what he’s doing in terms of rural development, in terms of housing sector transformation, which I mentioned that he is doing the same in education sector and in health.

“So if he continues, if he persists in placing the people’s need at the center of focus of his administration, there is no way they are going to be able to justify this kind of shenanigans.

“Because, if you look very carefully at the so called articles of impeachment, you will see that there is no specificity in terms of any infraction by the governor or his deputy.

“What they are trying to do is to make sure they scuttle the administration so that the governor doesn’t then get to the point where he will be seeking a second term.

“Let me be clear, just two days ago, Nyesom Wike was at one of the local governments, and he made it clear in a moment of epiphany, he made it clear that, look, if Governor Fubara were to get a second term in office, it will amount to his own political burial.

“So all of these things that we are seeing the so called impeachment proceedings they’ve initiated, it’s actually an effort to try to scuttle the prospects of the governor coming for a second term, and I don’t see how they will succeed.

“If you look at the so called articles of impeachment, as I said, they lack specificity in terms of the kind of infraction that they allege that the governor has committed. He has done nothing wrong, and they will see how the process will play out.

“My sense, and in fact, if I were to advise the governor, my sense is that he should just maintain the people, retain the people at the center of gravity of his administration, meet their needs, run a transparent administration as he always done, and then the truth will come out, and he will be able to defend the administration.

“I think the the governing APC should also step in because they can’t possibly allow the governor of the office with probably one of the best performance records in the country to be humiliated by some of these members of the assembly.”