Rivers State: Caveat Emptor For Wike

 By Ochereome Nanna

Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, must be feeling on top of the world right now. He has successfully retrieved the structure of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State from Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

*Fubara and Wike 
With the endorsement of the National Working Committee, NWC, of the party and the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, witnessed and certified the recent congress of the Rivers State chapter of the party, all eyes are on the Governor to respond in the battle for his own political survival.

Wike is a “successful” professional politician. He made it from being a bag carrier to former governors of Rivers State to LGA chairman (Obio Akpor), minister, governor and back to minister today, in a federal administration led by President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC. He is the only PDP leader in the Tinubu cabinet. Unlike in the past when victorious presidents negotiated with opposition parties to form inclusive cabinets, Wike went into Tinubu’s government on his own steam, and in defiance of critical stakeholders of the PDP. 

This is also the first time one member has successfully held a major political party to ransom, and gotten away with it. Wike should have been booted out. But he cannot be expelled because he has captured the engine room of the party at the centre. He seemingly still has the “deepest pocket” in the party, and willingness to deploy it.

The leadership of the PDP lost control back in 2015-2019 when Wike volunteered the treasury of Rivers State to keep it alive through the APC’s strenuous efforts to kill the party after it lost power. In 2019, Wike tried (and failed) to sponsor his erstwhile friend, Waziri Tambuwal, for president. In 2023, he entered the fray. But when opportunistic Atiku Abubakar and his group manipulated the party’s secretariat to edge out Wike, the latter formed the group of five rebel governors (including Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Abia) to scuttle PDP’s chances of returning to power. 

Wike pushed Peter Obi out to brighten his chances of being picked for vice president. When this ambition hit the rocks, he forged an alliance with Tinubu, the APC presidential flagbearer, gave him a dubious victory in the presidential election in Rivers State, and thus earned his place as FCT Minister. 

Wike shifted his attention to his honeypot, Rivers State, where his handpick, Governor Fubara, was on seat. He wanted to be the Jagaban of Rivers State, in the same manner that Tinubu has been the godfather of Lagos State, whose treasury he leveraged to fund his presidential aspiration. It did not go well for him, because Fubara expectedly rebelled to assert his authority. Wike and all his lawmakers, party and council officials were disconnected from the Rivers State feeding bottle.

Wike has taken a major step to bounce back. He got the INEC and NWC of the PDP to endorse the congress of his faction of the PDP. It is unusual for a minister to overpower a governor in a tussle of this nature, but Wike has pulled it off, more so because he has the big elephant: the Tinubu Federal might, behind him. 

While inaugurating his party officials, Wike made some pronouncements which many Nigerians found unpalatable and objectionable. He likened his loss of access to Governor Fubara’s “red biro” to what happens to a businessman who makes an investment. He either makes profit or loss. The “investment” on Fubara was a “loss”. Wike consoled his followers to bear it and hope for profit next time. 

This is not surprising from a person who has become so “rich” through politics that he can overawe 12 PDP Governors and Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President, multibillionaire and serial presidential candidate. But it says so much about the politics we practise in Nigeria today. Gone are the days when involvement in politics was for service, which made it possible for our founding fathers like Dr Michael Okpara, Dr Akanu Ibiam, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Mallam Aminu Kano, Sir Ahmadu Bello and others, to serve their people with distinction and without stuffing their pockets. 

During that era, Nigeria was one of the fastest growing entities in the world. But today, because of the mentality that politicians brought into politics, they have become billionaires on the people’s money while Nigeria is ranked as the poverty capital of the world.

Wike also threatened to “put fire” in the state of any PDP governor who intervenes in Rivers politics. That is totally a direct violation of Section 37(1) of the Criminal Code. It is a treasonable offence and unbecoming of a lawyer, ex-governor and cabinet minister. Wike can be held vicariously responsible for any breakdown of law and order in any PDP state, and no one has monopoly of violence!

Here is the caveat emptor (buyer beware) for Wike. He may, or he may not succeed in regaining control of Rivers State in 2027. Even if he imposes another governor, there is no guarantee he would not record another “business loss”. No governor wants to be bossed.  Since Wike is in Tinubu’s hands, Rivers will ultimately be in Tinubu’s pocket. There can’t be two Jagabans. 

Either way, Wike will lose Rivers in the end.

*Nnanna is a commentator on public issues