A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Bode George, has alleged that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, was being involved in influencing the selection of gubernatorial candidates for both the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the PDP in Rivers State.
George described the development as troubling, warning that such actions could destabilise the party and the wider political environment if not addressed.
This is even as the PDP chieftain expressed concern over the protracted crisis within the party, describing the situation as unprecedented.
Speaking on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Wednesday, George criticised some party members, particularly Wike’s faction, for failing to abide by internal rules and procedures, despite efforts to resolve disputes.
He recalled that the Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan had earlier directed aggrieved parties to convene a meeting to settle their differences, but noted that those involved refused to attend.
According to him, the matter was subsequently taken to the Supreme Court, which upheld the suspension of three members of the party’s National Working Committee.
George questioned the refusal of affected individuals to accept the ruling of the apex court, stressing that no one is above the law.
He said: “The point is you can only force a horse to the brook, you cannot force that horse to drink.
“You understand it is in their own purview to accept that there is a political party with a program, with a statue, with procedures, and if they fail to abide, that’s why I call them agent provocateurs.
“You remember the Court of Appeal in Ibadan said we should go and hold a meeting and see how we can resolve our internal problem. They refuse to turn up.
“Now they have gone to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has said all those three that were members of the working committee remain suspended.
“So would you not accept the ruling of the highest body? You know, if you want to be a good politician, I will refer him, fortunately he’s a lawyer, there is a Magna Carta charter in England here, which states that even the King of England cannot be above the law.
“So nobody can be above the law. And being a lawyer, I don’t know which school of law he went, but as an engineer, I know for real that I read it because I studied the history too, the Magna Carta charter says it all. So if he says he doesn’t want to do this and that I will advise, I will send my advice to the President that he pretends to be working for him.
“There is more of what they call a political undertaker and an agent provocateur. You don’t need this in this country for God’s sake. It will not only be him, if he’s able to destabilize the country. The fault will be on the president, because he’s not the president.
“A man who says he’s a member of our party has appointed somebody, now nominated somebody to be the governorship candidate for APC in Rivers, and is also nominating somebody to be PDP governorship candidate.
“What kind of thing is this? I had never seen anything like this. Somebody needs to talk to him, and the only man who can caution him is the president.
“We do not want a repeat of what happened in 1962 in western region because you can only know the beginning of crisis. How it went, you cannot know.”
