The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, shed light on the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a robust political foundation, as internal conflicts continued to unfold.
Reports had recently surfaced about a rift between Wike and his political protege, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.
The tension escalated when some members of the Rivers State House of Assembly made an unsuccessful attempt to impeach Governor Fubara, which was further complicated by a fire incident at the legislative complex.
Speaking during a meeting with South-South leaders at his Abuja office, Minister Wike emphasized the significance of safeguarding one’s political relevance and structure. He expressed his unwavering determination to retain his political base, recognizing its fundamental importance in politics.
“In politics, everyone wants to be politically relevant and maintain their political structure. Is it not your political structure? Will you allow anybody to just cut you out immediately? Everybody has a base. If you take my base, am I not politically irrelevant?” Minister Wike emphasized.
Despite the challenges, Wike remained steadfast and unshaken, stating that he would not lose sleep over any attempts to tarnish his political standing. He stressed the need to follow the appropriate channels for addressing internal party matters, affirming that party issues should be resolved within the party’s internal mechanisms.
“In politics, there are a lot of internal wrangling. But to come out and say ‘Oh, they want to do this against me, it will not work.’ I had every power then to say where this thing is going. So, when things are wrong, you ask questions. It is a party affair. The party knows how they resolve their own mechanism; it is not an ethnic affair,” Minister Wike clarified.