Former Senate President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Adolphus Wabara, has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to address the ongoing crisis in Rivers State.
In a statement on Thursday, Wabara urged the Nigerian leader to call his appointee, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to order before he plunges Rivers State into a needless political crisis.
Wabara’s statement comes in response to recent actions by pro-Wike lawmakers and the call by the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The former Senate President expressed concern over Wike’s role in escalating tensions between Governor Fubara and the lawmakers, emphasizing the importance of stability in Rivers State due to its economic significance in Nigeria.
Senator Wabara called on President Tinubu to urge Wike to promote peace and allow his successor to fulfil his constitutional duties without interference.
“I want to appeal to the president to call his appointee, Nyesom Wike, to order so that his actions in Rivers do not confirm the suspicion that the APC has an agenda to turn Nigeria into a one-party state. Wike should allow peace to reign in Rivers State.
“Mr President should appreciate the importance of Rivers as a major revenue base of the country, and should the trouble they are stoking erupt, Nigeria will definitely not escape the aftermath,” the PDP BoT Chairman said, urging members of the Rivers House of Assembly not to yield themselves as agents of destabilization of the state “because history will not be kind to them.”
Wabara cautioned the gladiators to carefully consider the serious consequences of any attempt to forcibly remove a democratically-elected Governor or President from office.
The former Senate President, who cautioned that the PDP would not tolerate any further intimidation or persecution of the Governor, encouraged “all those involved in the political dispute in Rivers to embrace peace”.
Regarding the mass departure of PDP members in Abia State, Senator Wabara acknowledged that such a situation was not unexpected, but advised party loyalists not to panic.
He mentioned that the party elders had taken steps to prevent further member exits, attributing the situation to the previous PDP-led administration’s disregard for internal democracy and party supremacy.
Wabara also observed that some party leaders were leaving for self-preservation, while others were joining the bandwagon without much thought.
He urged PDP members in the state to remain steadfast and support the ongoing efforts to rebuild and reposition the party for a victorious run in 2027.