Politics
2023: Wike rules out PDP winning elections, says Secondus-led NWC, incompetent
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has berated the Prince Uche Secodus-led National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for alleged total imcompetence, accusing it of deepening the cracks in the party ahead 2023
Gov Wike particularly accused the NWC of sowing seeds of discord among PDP governors, stakeholders and thereby diminishing the party’s prospect to reclaiming the Nation’s Presidency come 2023.
The Governor spoke on a African Independent Television, AIT Live programme Monitored in Abuja on Friday.
The governor also warned that President Muhammadu Buhari’s integrity would be at stake if he failed to honour the invitation of the House of Representatives following the rising insecurity across the country.
The governor pointed out that it was regrettable that instead of capitalising on the inefficiency and misadministration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) five years in power, PDP’s NWC was deepening cracks in the party.
According to him, “PDP ought to have harvested from the inefficiency of the APC; from the misadministration of the APC. Ordinarily, that is what the opposition party ought to do. If you ask me, are Nigerians waiting for a change? Yes
“If you ask me as a member of PDP, am ready to support PDP to takeover, yes. But, if you ask me currently as it is, is the leadership of the party willing for us to harvest this opportunity for a change, I will say no.”
Gov Wike lamented that instead of focusing on strategies on how to take advantage of the growing disenchantment against the APC government, the NWC of the PDP was busy creating crisis among governors using two former governors of Imo and Cross River states and a present Senator from Benue State.
According to the Gov, “An opposition party that ought to be united, to work, to take over the affairs of government because people are waiting for this opportunity, but the current leadership of NWC is not prepared for that, rather, what they have done is to constitute some people to sow a seed of discord among governors for their own selfish interest. And that will boomerang; that will consume them.”
The governor said he lacked the ability to defect to the APC or any other political party and would continue to fight for the survival of the PDP.
Said he, “I will not allow anybody to kill PDP. They have the capacity to move to APC. I don’t and I cannot move to APC. So, anybody that tries to do something to destroy PDP, I will not allow you. Anybody that I see that has the trait to destroy the PDP, I will not allow it”.
He described as disingenuous the decision of the NWC to jettison the recommendations of Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom-led committee set up to reconcile the party in Niger and Plateau states because of its vested interest in Niger.
Wike said NWC as currently constituted was merely interested in retaining the current structure of the party to remain in power, and not to win the 2023 election.
According to him, “the present National Working Committee of our great Party is not interested or doing anything to take over the realms of government in 2023. When your interest is to remain in power, you are no longer interested to win the election”.
On the invitation of the President by the House of Representatives on the worsening Security in the country, Gov Wike lamented the level of insecurity, particularly in Borno State and other parts of the country, saying that the sad development ought to have compelled President Buhari to keep his promise of honouring the invitation by the law makers.
He said the APC members controlled the majority in the National Assembly, which moved the motion to invite the President to address them on measures being taken to tackle and end the spate of violent killings.
Wike said it was wrong for the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation to turn around to subject the invitation to legal interpretation, instead of protecting the integrity of the President.
According to him, “There is insecurity. People are dying. You don’t go by the legal approach to solve that problem. If Mr. President had given the assurance, saying my integrity is at stake, therefore I will go, that decision was not taken without talking first to his inner cabinet
“It’s not a question and answers session. You go with a brief to address the congress. To say, see where it was when we came, see where we are today. Yes, we have not achieved what we thought, but what we require from everyone is cooperation
“For me, I think this is not the period to be legalistic. This is the period every Nigerian should be concerned about what is happening. Just this morning (Friday), I heard that 16 people were killed on Abuja-Kaduna road yesterday. Look at the loss of life in Borno State. Senate has said look, Mr. President, relief all Service Chiefs, which means they are concerned about the security situation in the country.”
He further said if he were the Attorney General of the Federation, he would have advised the President privately and urged him to write a letter to the House of Representatives that he would come at a later day because of the exigency of his office.
To end the spate of violent crime in the country, Wike recommended the creation of employment opportunities for youths and drastic change to the operational system of policing in the country.
He insisted that states must be allowed to get involved in the community police.
Former presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 2023 general election, Adewole Adebayo said, God has told him that the party will produce the next president in 2027 general election.
Speaking over the weekend in Abeokua when he met the members and executive who were led by the State Chairman, Yinka Ola-Williams, said he could confirm that a President of SDP will mount Aso Rock villa in 2027.
“One thing that God is telling me is that there will be an SDP president in the villa in 2027.
“For the first time in a long time, we will have people who care for the people. Let’s remain focused. The problems of Nigeria are our problems, not individuals.
“We are not against Tinubu as a person but we are against hunger, inflation, poverty, insecurity, unemployment. That’s what we are against,” he said.
Buttressing Adebayo’s position on modalities of joining the party, the SDP Chairman in Ogun State, Mr. Yinka Ola-Williams, disowned 30,000 membership cards and registers allegedly being flaunted by one of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirants in the 2023 governorship election in the State.
Ola-Williams said the party’s door is widely opened to anybody who wants to join, but such a person or group, no matter how highly placed, must follow the procedure as laid down in the party’s constitution.
He emphatically stated that the party had nothing to do with the membership cards and registers claimed by the aspirant, who said he got them from the party’s National Secretariat.
“We want people to join us, and we want to work together to provide a better government than what we have now that will remove poverty, provide a better healthcare system for people, improve education and all.
“But not that they come to the party, hijack the party and take the structure away. That’s what we will not agree,” Ola-Williams said.
Barrister Adewole Adebayo, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the 2023 general election, apprehensive of massive defection to the party urged defectors to go through legitimate route and due process.
Speaking over the weekend in Abeokuta, Adebayo when he met with SDP members and executive members led by the State Chairman, Yinka Ola-Williams, said the party is open to defectors, but they must do so legitimately.
Flanked by the former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, the former presidential candidate allayed fears that defectors may hijack the party, stressing that the National Working Committee of SDP can only issue membership cards through the executive at the state levels.
He said, “People are counterfeiting naira, they are counterfeiting the dollar, they’re bringing counterfeit rice, and NAFDAC is chasing counterfeit drugs. Why are you surprised that there are counterfeit party cards? Especially if the party cards are carried by counterfeit politicians who have a history of doing counterfeiting in their former parties. So, we should forgive everybody, but this counterfeiting will not work in SDP.”
“We are not fighting anybody we are only saying ‘come to our house through the front door not through the ceiling or the window.’ That’s all. Everybody here joined the party legitimately, anybody coming will join legitimately”.
“We have spoken to the National Chairman and the NWC, he said there’s no counterfeiting of anything. Any card that’s not given through the state, LG and executives is not from the SDP. So, if they come, you will tell them to go away. Put your name in our register here and pay us here. We will get the card for you. That’s how it is”.
“They want to run faster than their legs. Secondly, you are hearing rumors that people are coming to our party, Awolowo is coming, Azikiwe is coming, Balewa, Ahmadu Bello is coming. Let’s see them. Nigerians know us and they know them.”
He ruled out any plan that SDP would merge or collaborate with the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC or any political party ahead of 2027 general election.
According to him, SDP is committed to the well-being and welfare of Nigerians, while he ruled out insinuations that the party is an appendage of APC.
“Maybe APC has appendicitis; they should go to the hospital to kill it. We are a strong party. We are older than any of the parties available. Our mission is clear: we are not in government with them.
“I led the party in the last election. I’m still standing here. I’m not a minister under Tinubu; all the state chairman and the national chairman are intact, including the national secretary. So, we are standing on our own.
“The reason people look down on us is because we don’t attack people, but we tackle issues because our party is a party of intellect. We are the only party that’s a little to the left. Having been a little to the left since we came in 1989, we remain so.
“The problems of Nigeria can only be found with solutions on the left, which is that chapter two of the Constitution, invest money in education, in housing, in healthcare, good infrastructure, let Nigerians live what chief Obafemi Awolowo called a life more abundant,” he said.
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the Governor of Katsina State, Malam Dikko Umar Radda, over the passing of his mother, Hajiya Safarau Umar Baribari.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Edwin Olofu, Dr. Ganduje described Hajiya Safarau’s death as a profound loss that has left a deep void in the hearts of her family, friends, and the people of Katsina State.
Extending his sympathies, the APC National Chairman condoled with Governor Radda, the bereaved family, and the entire people of Katsina State during this difficult time.
He acknowledged the remarkable contributions of the late Hajiya Safarau and prayed for Almighty Allah (SWT) to grant her eternal rest in Jannatul Firdaus while strengthening the family to bear this irreplaceable loss.
Dr. Ganduje urged Governor Radda and others affected to find comfort in the cherished memories and enduring legacy of the deceased.
Reaffirming the APC’s support, the former Kano State governor assured the people of Katsina State of the party’s solidarity in their time of grief and prayed that Allah (SWT) grant the departed soul Al-Jannah Firdaus. Ameen.
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