Drama As PDP Governors Dump Wike, Declare Full Support For Fubara

The Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have declared their full support for Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State amid his ongoing dispute with his predecessor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

This renewed show of support follows a contentious party congress in which Governor Fubara was excluded from participation.

The PDP Governors have called on the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party to revisit the proceedings of the congress and ensure that Governor Fubara is granted his rightful place within the party’s leadership structure.

These decisions were part of the resolutions made during the PDP Governors’ Forum (PDP-GF) meeting held in Jalingo, Taraba State, on Friday. The forum addressed significant intra-party issues as well as governance challenges that impact their states and have national implications.

A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting stated: “The Forum notes the political impasse in Rivers State, where court judgments are being used to determine the outcome of the party congresses. The PDP Governors’ Forum stands with the Governor of Rivers State and will engage the NWC to revisit the congress to correct this anomaly and allow His Excellency, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, to assume his rightful leadership position in the state.”

The opposition governors also assessed preparations for the upcoming Edo State governorship election next month, criticizing President Bola Tinubu for allegedly attempting to manipulate the process in favor of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The communiqué added: “Regarding the upcoming governorship election in Edo State, we condemn the President’s statements aimed at compromising the election in favor of his party, as well as the systematic intimidation of PDP supporters by the Nigeria Police. We call on the Inspector General of Police to bring his officers to order.”

The PDP governors expressed concern over the federal government’s reliance on blackmail instead of reviewing macroeconomic and social policies to make them more humane. They urged President Tinubu to “demonstrate statesmanship by restraining his officials from blame games that portray the sub-nationals negatively, citing piecemeal interventions that cannot solve the larger problems.”

The PDP governors reaffirmed their commitment to standing with the suffering Nigerian masses and taking all legitimate steps to alleviate their plight.

They also expressed apprehension over the federal government’s “refusal” to distinguish between federal revenue and federation revenue, which should be distributed according to established laws. They called on the government to adhere to Section 162 of the Constitution and to separate the roles of the Accountant General of the Federation from those of the Accountant General of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

“We call on the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Accountant General of the Federation to be more transparent in obeying the law, particularly Section 162 (1), (2), and (3). We also call on the Accountant General of the Federation to stop acting as the Accountant General of the Federal Government and to perform her role in line with the Constitution. Therefore, we call for the separation of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation from that of the Accountant General of the Federal Government,” the communiqué stated.