Abdullahi also disclosed that the party had written a letter to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, requesting his appearance before its recently constituted Disciplinary Committee to address petitions against him regarding alleged anti-party activities.
He described Wike’s recent threat to incite political unrest in the states of PDP governors who support Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara as disappointing.
The deputy national publicity secretary said Wike should have chosen his words more carefully.
The PDP recently inaugurated a Disciplinary Committee headed by former Minister of Foreign Affairs, High Chief Tom Ikimi.
However, shortly after the committee’s inauguration, Chief Bode George, a former national vice chairman of the PDP and a member of the committee, resigned, claiming the committee was biased.
Over the weekend, Wike threatened to create political turmoil in the states of governors who support Fubara. This threat was a response to the PDP governors’ recent declaration of support for Fubara during their meeting in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital.
The FCT minister and Fubara, his estranged successor, have been engaged in an ongoing political struggle for the party’s structure in the state.
Addressing PDP stakeholders during the party state congress in Port Harcourt over the weekend, Wike stated: “Let me assure you, not while we live, will anybody take away the PDP structure from us. Let me tell you people; I hear that some governors said they will take away the structure and give it to somebody. I pity those governors because I will set fire in their states. When God has given you peace, and you said you don’t want peace; whatever you see, you take.”
But reacting to Wike’s comments, Deputy National Publicity Secretary Ibrahim Abdullahi said Wike is among those against whom the party has received petitions for anti-party activities.
He added that the committee “has written him a letter inviting him over” to appear before them.
“We have received petitions concerning anti-party activities by those sabotaging the party throughout the primaries up to now. These petitions have been aggregated across the country,” he said.
When asked specifically about petitions against Wike, Abdullahi revealed that party members felt Wike should not have progressed so far within the party and have been submitting complaints.
He added, “Nyesom Wike is one of the persons expected to face that committee, which is headed by none other than High Chief Tom Ikimi.”
He praised the current party leadership for “navigating the waters by not sanctioning people without giving them an opportunity for a fair hearing,” a contrast with the previous chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.
Regarding Wike’s recent threat against governors over the Rivers crisis, Abdullahi said, “He (Wike) was referring to something that was clear for everyone to see: the governor of Bauchi State’s interference in the congress’s outcome in Rivers State. I don’t know if Wike will be fair to himself if he expects the governor of Bauchi, who is the chairman of the governors’ forum and a leader of the PDP going forward, to remain silent on issues affecting Rivers State. That is one of our states, and we worked hard to secure it.
Wike should have managed his words more carefully.”When asked if the party supported the Bauchi State governor in this matter, Abdullahi responded, “We are with Wike and everyone. What we are saying is that Wike’s statement was very inappropriate, and we do not support it.”
On resolving the party’s crisis, he stated that the PDP has dealt with more delicate issues in the past, and the current impasse is “one of them, and we will overcome it.”