Rivers State: PDP Grapples With Uncertainty Over Loss Of LG Structure

Rivers State has continued to be in the eyes of the storm over the political crisis between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, have been at odds since last year, with their conflict reportedly centred on control over state resources and political structure.

Multiple interventions from the chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and stakeholders in the state, including President Bola Tinubu, have failed to reconcile them.

Wike seems to have gained the upper hand, controlling 27 out of 32 State Assembly members and the state’s PDP structure.

Despite a recommendation from the PDP Governors’ Forum that the leadership structure in Rivers is returned to Fubara, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP, sympathetic to Wike, has recognised Wike’s loyalists as the legitimate state executive committee members.

Local Government Election And Twist

The local government election conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), triggered more crises in the state.

Despite the court judgement barring the security agencies from participating in the election, Fubara insisted that the election would go as scheduled.

Wike’s loyalists in the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC), boycotted the election, citing a judgement by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which stated that RSIEC violated requisite provisions by not publishing the mandatory 90 days’ notice before fixing the date for the election.

Fubara, before the election, reportedly directed his loyalists to contest the polls under the Action Peoples Party, APP platform, following Wike’s strong influence in the PDP.

Fubara And New Political Structure In Rivers

The election outcome shows that APP dominated, winning the chairmanship positions in 22 out of the 23 LGAs and securing 314 out of 319 councillorship seats across the state’s 23 local government areas.

This clearly indicates that Governor Fabara has regained control of the LG structure ahead of the next elections.

While many political stakeholders and party chieftains lashed out at Fubara, others, including the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Atiku Abubakar, threw their weight behind the governor.

Naija News reported that the chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the PDP, Senator Adolphus Wabara, while speaking against the background of the local government election, declared that the PDP shot itself in the leg.

Wabara lamented that it was the first time in recent history that a ruling party in Rivers State, controlled by the PDP since 1999, lost its grassroots influence to a lesser-known party.

Has PDP Truly Lost Rivers State?

In an interview with Naija News, former Governorship aspirant of PDP in Ogun State, Segun Sowunmi, stated that the outcome of the Rivers LG election does not mean that PDP has lost the state, referencing other states with similar situations.

He said, “I don’t accept the notion that the PDP has lost Rivers at the grassroots level due to the outcome of the local government elections. Anywhere the governor had stayed in all states, the governor had won the local government election. That does not mean the opposition party did not exist. Take the case of Oyo, PDP won all the local government elections, but that does not mean that there is no APC there. Also, in the case of Kano and the Kwankwaso movement still have APC as strong opposition.

“The situation in Rives where APP is at the local government level is unfortunate, but that does not mean PDP no longer exists in the state. Time will tell what the party will do going forward because we have other politicians who neither support Wike nor Fubara. The masses are suffering the political crisis, but that does not mean that PDP will not be strong there or win elections there. It all depends on how the matter are quickly settled by the party members.”

Questioned why the party leaders have failed to intervene in the political crisis in Rivers State, Showunmi said, “The structure of the party is designed in such a way that state, local government, zone and national have their own power. The ongoing political crisis in Rivers state has also happened in other states. I don’t see anything dramatic about it. People’s character can intensify the situation but I believe it is not an easy problem and people should stop blaming the PDP for it they people in the state are all adults in their own right.”

He added, “Rivers State is in a very challenging situation and where they are right now, only the court can resolve the crisis. It is also important for the court to hasten up with its final decision and preferably, they should consolidate all the cases into one. What should be considered is have the pro-Wike lawmakers lost their position according to the law? Is the budget Governor Fubara is running administered as proper budget and given proper approval? only the court can administer it.”