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Wike: Tinubu Saved Fubara by Declaring State of Emergency, I Wanted Him Out
Wike: Tinubu Saved Fubara by Declaring State of Emergency, I Wanted Him Out
*Says PDP not ready for 2027, tips president to remain till 2031
*Fayose: I will work against Atiku again
Chuks Okocha and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, yesterday, said he wanted Siminalayi Fubara to be removed as Governor of Rivers State but President Bola Tinubu saved him by declaring a State of Emergency in the State.
Also yesterday, former Governor of Ekiti State and Wike’s ally, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, declared that he would once more work against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar if he decides to join the presidential race in 2027. Fayose, said this in an interview on a national television.
Tinubu had declared a State of Emergency in Rivers State on March 18, suspending the Governor and the House of Assembly members. Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas was appointed a Sole Administrator for the State.
Wike, who spoke during a media chat in Abuja, yesterday, also declared that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was unprepared for the 2027 general elections, citing internal strife, impunity, and a lack of genuine commitment to opposition politics as key factors contributing to the party’s current state.
The former Rivers State governor insisted that President Tinubu did the right thing by declaring a state of emergency in Rivers.
“As a politician, I am not happy about the state of emergency in Rivers State,” Wike said.
“I wanted the outright removal of Governor Fubara. The President, by declaring a state of emergency, saved Fubara.
“However, people must tell the truth. The governor was gone. He was gone, yes… so when people say the President did this, I say they should be praising him. Every morning, they should go to the President and ask, ‘can we wash your feet for saving us?’”
Wike also questioned why Fubara had not reached out to him since his suspension.
“Has anybody taken it upon himself or herself to say, ‘this is where we are?’ he asked.
“If I am the cause of the problem… Has he ever called me as an elder to say what the problem is? Let us sit down and talk,” Wike stated.
He added that Tinubu’s intervention saved the state from plunging into further crisis.
Wike also chastised Atiku for spearheading the coalition talks to unseat President Tinubu in the 2027 election.
He warned that the former VP is about to repeat the same mistakes that led to the PDP’s defeat in the 2023 presidential election.
“You made the mistake yesterday, you want to repeat the same mistake today, tomorrow you make the same mistake, and then you come out to say you were rigged out, who rigged you out? You have already rigged yourself by causing crisis,” Wike said.
Wike, who is a member of the PDP, insisted the opposition party was not ready for the 2027 general election, citing internal strife, impunity, and a lack of genuine commitment to opposition politics as key factors contributing to the party’s current state.
He stated: “It is very obvious. For instance, I have an examination and I am going to class to read. Indeed, am I reading? Am I studying? You don’t need to deceive anybody that you are reading. You are only trying to read so that people will see that you have carried your bag to class.
“That is the situation of the PDP. So, they cannot say for sure that they are ready for 2027. Power struggle cannot help the party.”
He declared the coalition as one borne out of selfishness while asserting that President Tinubu will remain in power till 2031.
“Everybody wants to become president of the country. Nobody wants to say, ‘Look, let me build our party so that at the end of the day our party will be in a formidable position as an opposition party to take over power,’” Wike said.
He berated the PDP Governors Forum for destabilising the party, adding the organ is insincere and lacks the authority to make proclamations on zoning or alter the functions of the National Working Committee (NWC).
Wike also decried the forum for lacking the capacity to hold the ruling party accountable. He described the Governors’ Forum as only a pressure group, but not an organ of the party that can not make public decisions.
“The governors forum is a pressure group that can put influence on the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party. You cannot take the functions of the NWC and say because you are governor, you now superintend.
“You are repeating the same thing. What happened in 2023 may likely happen in 2027. If you don’t stop this impunity, it will affect the party. How will it affect the party? Very clear. The governors’ forum is not an organ of the party,” he said.
He itemised genuine sacrifice and strong leadership as the main requirement for any party aspiring to lead the opposition.
According to Wike, this quality is currently absent within the PDP. “For you to say I want to lead the opposition party is not by mouth. You have to sacrifice a lot of things”.
“Now you don’t have the power to say that somebody should be acting National Secretary when a National Secretary has not resigned. You cannot do that.
“You don’t have the power to say we have formed a committee on zoning, it is not within your prerogative to form a zoning committee, and these are things people can challenge any day, any time, and when that happens, people now say, oh! Why are they always making a problem?
“Now the issue is who is setting, laying the foundation for the crisis in the party? I have told people that the best way to go about this is you go under, put your influence, get the results and then you move on. But to come out openly to say, look, we, the governors forum, have met with the organs of the party, we have met with the National Working Committee, who? Who are you to say that a National Secretary of the party who was elected was not appointed? Yes, he was assigned to a particular area, and he was elected by the delegates at the National Convention”
Wike also threatened to withhold his support from the PDP in the FCT council election if the party fails to put its house in order.
He said: “If PDP goes the way they are going, I will not support them.
“This crisis will consume this party until the right thing is being done. I have never recommended anybody to these governors but that does not mean that I don’t play any role.
“Like the governor of Bayelsa, I played a fundamental role, he can’t deny it.
“I have said it in 2023 and I’m saying it again that until 2031, when the position should go to the North, there is nothing anybody will say to me now.
“It’s not anti-party, it’s harmonious living together, you can’t tell me that it’s your own prerogative to be producing president; let’s all live.
“Whether APC liked it or not, it was very turbulent for Tinubu to have scaled through that election. You could see that he could have failed the election woefully. The fuel crisis, the naira issue was terrible.
“No party in government would at that time bring such a policy when you know you are running an election, but everything was done and he survived it.
“That’s how you will know that there are people that, first of all, God is on their side, they also know this game and you must give it to them.”
Meanwhile, Fayose has declared that he will once more work against former Vice President Atiku Abubakar if he decides to join the presidential race in 2027.
He explained: “I publicly worked against Atiku, and I am saying for the second time, if Atiku comes again, I will work against him. It is time to learn our lesson.
“After eight years of a northerner, it is the turn of a southerner, which could involve someone from the East, South West or South-South.”
According to him, the recent stance of the PDP Governors’ Forum in Ibadan, Oyo State, on a planned coalition was a clear message that they are not aligned with Atiku.
“The coalition is a dead horse ab initio. Tell me one positive person that has given his words in support of this coalition? The governors’ stance in Ibadan is to tell Atiku that we are not with you, we are going nowhere, we have our own identity.
“That coalition is just the imagination of people trying to bring it to fruition. It’s a waste of time. The governors are fighting for their own survival, and they don’t need an Atiku to fight for their survival.
“In actual fact, most of them prefer a Tinubu for their survival than an Atiku. Don’t let us deceive and fool ourselves; there is nothing called coalition. Obi can’t go to Atiku; Atiku can’t go to Obi.
Commenting on the crisis in the PDP, Fayose said: “Those who gave or zoned power back to the North caused all these problems.”
Fayose emphasised the importance of respecting power rotation, even if informally agreed upon, arguing that the refusal to support a Southern candidate undermined the unity of the party.
“You don’t have to like a Nyesom Wike or a Peter Obi, but there should be an unwritten, respected gentleman understands of powershift,” he said.
*Says PDP not ready for 2027, tips president to remain till 2031 *Fayose: I will work against Atiku again Chuks Okocha and Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja The Minister of Federal