Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has attacked former
governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, saying he is a mole in the
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He said it was unfortunate that the PDP has continued to
allow the former Niger State governor to remain a member of its highest
decision making body after he publicly confessed to working alongside others to
frustrate former President Goodluck Jonathan’s second term bid in 2015.
Wike spoke during a media chat at the Government House, Port
Harcourt on Monday.
He stressed that it was disturbing that while governors and
other stakeholders were working assiduously to strategically position the PDP
to takeover the realm of power in 2023, the likes of Aliyu were working as All
Progressives Congress (APC) moles in PDP.
“Aliyu Babangida is a mole in PDP. These are people who get
information and in the night they go to the ruling party (APC) and give them
the information.”
Wike declared that contrary to insinuation by Babangida,
there did not exist any frosty relationship between him and the PDP National
Chairman, Uche Secondus.
According to him, in politics, people were bound to disagree
on certain issues, but that could not be misconstrued as a rift in their
relationship.
“The same Aliyu in 2017 was one of those who opposed
Secondus to be Chairman of the party. He only came on board at the dying minute
when he knew Secondus was coasting to victory.”
The governor also clarify that he was not aware if the PDP
national chairman has disagreement with stakeholders of the party in Rivers
State.
He stressed that if there existed any form of conflict
between Secondus and others stakeholders in the State, the national chairman
would have made it known to all concern.
Wike explained that the reason why Babanigda has recently
embarked on a campaign of calumny against him. saying it was because he had
refused to invite him to Commission some of his legacy projects in Rivers
State.
He maintained that only former governors and incumbent ones
who had delivered or were delivering democratic dividends in their states were
qualified to inaugurate projects in Rivers State.
Reacting to Babangida’s accusation that he was a dictator in
the PDP, the governor said it was rather disingenuous for a man who has refused
to allow a credible party congress take place in Niger State to cast aspersion
on him.
“In 2015, what happened to him, he insisted his own boy will
be governor. In 2019, he insisted again and PDP lost. Who is the dictator? Up
till now, the reason why the State (Niger) congress cannot take place is
because he wants to dictate who will be chairman of the party.”
He continued: “We have been working hard in Rivers State to
see we don’t have the ruling APC in Rivers state. Ask Aliyu if he can do the
same in Niger State. If there is election today, can he make PDP to win in
Niger state? As I speak to you, no state congress has been held in Niger state.
It is because of his dictatorial tendency.”
The governor described Babangida’s recommendation that the
NWC of the PDP should suspend him from the party as childish.
He stressed that if the former Niger State governor has any
modicum of self-esteem, even as a liability to PDP, he would have been
circumspect and refrain from making denigrating comments against one whose
state has accounted for highest votes gotten by the PDP since 1999.
To buttress his claim that Babangida is a liability to the
PDP, Wike noted that in 2015 while serving as a governor of Niger State, the
PDP lost woefully in the general election. According to him, worst still, in
2019 general election, the PDP failed to win any elective position in Niger
State.
“What is the impact of such a person as far as the party is
concerned? In 2019, despite the federal might that was against us in Rivers
State, we still were able to deliver all the senatorial candidates, all the
House of Representatives candidates. So, who is more profitably to the party?
Is it the man who cannot even win in his constituency?”
He added: “If Aliyu says he will leave PDP today, nobody
will shake, nobody will even bother. But if I say I will leave PDP tomorrow,
you will know the consequences of it.”
The governor dared those who have been insinuating that he
wants to contest for PDP presidential ticket in 2023 because of his
tirelessness in delivering dividends of democracy to the people of Rivers
State, to prove he has declared such intention to them.
He, however reiterated nobody could intimidate him from
contesting for the PDP presidential ticket if he decided to.
On Babangida’s claim that PDP would win the governorship
election in Ebony and Cross River states respectively in 2023, the governor
described this as laughable. He dared the former Niger State to first of all
deliver his state from the APC before pontificating about other States.
“You have heard him say that PDP will recover Ebonyi and
Cross River, tell me what will be his contribution. Tell me what is his
strategy for them (PDP) to recover the States? A man, who even in his own state
cannot provide the votes, he is saying that PDP will recover so and so states.
Recover your own first. Show the capacity that you have.”
The governor warned the PDP to be wary of Aliyu Babangida
and other moles who are determined to ruin the party’s chances of winning the
2023 general elections.
He noted that while PDP governors were busy delivering
democratic dividends in their respective states, the likes of Babangida were
busy sowing seed of discord.
“That was one of those who with other governors were going
round to bring down PDP (in 2015) and of course he was happy doing that. Today,
look at the consequences. Today, that is the man that has the temerity, the
audacity to talk to a governor whose state produced the highest vote in 2015
(1.5million votes) and the ruling party never had 25%. Ask Aliyu, in Niger
state if we (PDP) got 10 percent of the votes?”
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