I WAS A POLITICIAN LONG BEFORE WIKE WAS BORN, I WILL STOP HIM FROM BOTHERING GOV FUBARA - EDWIN CLARK
According to the report from the Sun News, In a strongly-worded open letter to the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iliya Damagun, Elder statesman Edwin Clark has called for the expulsion of Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from the party. Clark argues that Wike's continued presence in the PDP threatens the party's unity and survival.
Clark, who leads the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), accused Wike of leveraging his relationship with President Bola Tinubu to intimidate Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and undermine the cohesion of the PDP. He expressed disappointment in Damagun's failure to address Wike’s alleged anti-party activities, warning that the future of the PDP could be at stake if decisive action is not taken.
"I cannot stand by and watch as Wike continues to hound the governor. I was a politician long before he was born," Clark stated, emphasizing his long-standing commitment to the political landscape.
He also disclosed that he is currently writing a book titled PDP: To Be or Not to Be, where he criticizes Wike’s current alignment with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), despite his past condemnation of former governors Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), and Ben Ayade (Cross River) for defecting to the APC.
Referring to Wike's past acknowledgment of the influence of former Rivers State Governor Peter Odili and his wife in shaping his political career, Clark remarked, "After conceding that former Rivers State governor, Peter Odili, and his wife made him what he is today and will forever remain grateful to them, he is now abusing them. I won’t allow him to destroy Rivers State." He further accused Wike of using the PDP against itself after failing to use the APC to destabilize the party.
Clark also highlighted the ongoing legal battle involving defected Rivers State lawmakers at the Court of Appeal, accusing Damagun and the PDP National Secretary, Sam Anyanwu, of siding with Wike to undermine the case. "Mr. Acting National Chairman, as a matter of fact, it is not just the national legal adviser of the PDP that is shocked about your actions; all well-meaning, reasonable, patriotic, faithful, and honest party members, including many Nigerians, are equally shocked," Clark wrote.
He went on to describe the national leadership's actions as obvious anti-party activities, asserting that both Damagun and Anyanwu have become “tools in the hands of Wike, used with all intention to bring down the government of Fubara, the Governor of Rivers State.”
Clark noted that Wike’s recent behavior, particularly during the last PDP meeting in April, reveals his intent to destabilize the Rivers State government. "He is ready to use his closeness to Mr. President to insult, intimidate, and harass members of the party, especially those in Rivers State, who have decided to toe the right paths of both the Constitution of Nigeria and the PDP constitution, and who, in fact, were the backbone of Wike’s government as governor of Rivers State, for eight years," Clark concluded.
The letter underscores the deepening divisions within the PDP, as party elders like Clark warn of potential disaster if the current trajectory is not corrected.
