The Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) governors of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, and Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, are currently at loggerheads over alleged verbal attacks on Edo State deputy governor Philip Shaibu for threatening to leave the party if their supporters were not fully assimilated into the PDP.
An assertion by Shaibu that many of Obaseki's followers who switched parties with the governor from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP are unhappy and didn't feel welcomed into the new party is what caused the conflict between Governor Wike and the Edo Deputy Governor.
Shaibu threatened that there may be an exodus if the PDP national leadership did not "integrate" his supporters and those of his principal into the party.
Despite Ayu's assurances that she would investigate Comrade Shaibu's grievances, the Rivers governor took offense to this and verbally attacked the Edo deputy governor.
Governor Obaseki, who thought the assaults on his deputy were reprehensible, characterized Wike's behavior as regrettable and uncalled for.
Obaseki, who expressed his displeasure in a statement in Benin City yesterday, claimed that if Wike had any regard for and consideration for his fellow governors, he would have sought out to them to voice their concerns rather than launch an uncalled-for public attack.
He believed that Governor Wike could not hope to lead the Nigerian young if he was unable to comprehend and appropriately respond to their way of life.
"Governor Wike should have taken a cue from the manner in which the national chairman of our party, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, responded to my deputy's comments," he said. "A conscientious leader is able to show empathy and consideration."
He asserted that the worries raised by his deputy governor were relevant issues impacting the PDP in Edo State, which has been able to sign up more over 500,000 members since the September 19, 2020 polls.
After two years, he saw that the new members had still not been fully assimilated into the party.
The leaders, executives, and members who joined the PDP alongside him, he said, have still not been accepted, integrated, or harmonized into the group.
Obaseki claimed that a cabal, allegedly headed by a party leader in the state who is Wike's perpetual guest in Port Harcourt and was remotely used to orchestrate destabilization of the party in Edo State, is vilifying and ostracizing old members of the Edo PDP who are open to inclusion and supportive of building a large party.
It is important to remember at this point that Chief Emma Odidi resigned from her position as national vice chairman, South-South, of our party as part of a political solution that led to the emergence of the aforementioned party leader, first as acting and then as substantive national vice chairman, South-South.
Consequently, the governor remarked, "It is odd why this kind of political solution is no longer tenable to settle the political deadlock in Edo State PDP."
Obaseki noted that, contrary to what governor Wike said, Shaibu the deputy governor never threatened the party in his remarks.
PDP repeatedly threatened by Wike — Obaseki
Instead, he claimed, Governor Wike has repeatedly threatened the PDP.
For example, on September 16, 2018, Governor Wike warned the party that moving the national convention from Port Harcourt in the lead-up to the 2019 presidential election would have serious repercussions.
In addition, Governor Wike vowed to upset the party on September 12 in response to Ndudi Elumelu's election as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.
No one is opposed to Governor Wike's intention to run for president, he claimed, adding that it cannot be disputed that Wike has helped the PDP advance since 1999, just like others have. "However, his ambition should not be pursued in a way that will upset several levels, including the PDP Governors' Forum and various party chapters across the nation.
"For any one man to believe that he owns the PDP or has a larger stake in it and that everyone should bow down to him amounts to the illusion of grandeur, it is obvious.
The position of the party should reflect the thoughts, opinions, and contributions of all leaders and members as a whole rather than just the viewpoint of one person or a small group, according to Obaseki.
"You can't use Edo State to further your goals."
He added that while Governor Wike is free to use his resources however he sees fit in pursuit of his goals, he shouldn't try to bully, threaten, or otherwise coerce others into doing what he wants.
He added that this clarified the reason why every party member should join outstanding leaders across the nation to build PDP into a strong, large, and indomitable party that would win the presidential election the following year. He claimed that what Nigeria needs right now are strong democratic institutions, not strong men.
"Governor Wike and his cohorts in Edo State will not succeed in undermining the PDP in Edo State like they did in other states like Cross River simply to secure delegates to realize his purported personal desire to run for president in 2023," continued Obaseki.
He emphasized that the people of Edo State do not support political bullies and overlords, and he added that historically, the people of Edo have shown they are capable of breaking free and ousting oppressive regimes.
The governor made an appeal to all well-intentioned PDP leaders to summon Governor Wike to order and demand that he stop acting insensitively and disruptively as of late.
Wike responds by branding Obaseki a traitor.
Later on Friday, the scenario changed when Governor Wike retaliated against his Edo counterpart, branding him a serial traitor and an unappreciative individual.
Speaking to a throng at the opening of a secondary school in Omuanwa, Rivers State, Wike claimed that the Edo governor had refused to express gratitude to the party and the voters who had helped him win re-election after leaving the APC.
He did, however, express regret to Adams Oshiomhole, the former national chairman of the APC, who he claimed had initially cautioned them against bringing Governor Obaseki into the PDP fold.
"If you examine Obaseki's DNA, you will see betrayal, serial betrayal, and ungratefulness.
Let me take a moment to apologize to Adams Oshiomhole, who was right to warn us that we would see Governor Obaseki's true colors, insincerity, and ingratitude.
Ask Governor Obaseki if he has supported PDP in any way or voted for PDP, as we have done since 1999. He only participated in one election, which he won and for which we gave him an umbrella.
Government is about feeling and touching, not a memorandum of agreement, according to Governor Wike, who called Obaseki's remarks a rant.
As the Director-General (DG) of Governor Obaseki's campaign organization in 2020, the Rivers governor noted his role in the efforts that resulted in his re-election.
"Never, ever, am I in Obaseki's class! We cannot be the same because we are not the same. As his director of government, I spent three days in Edo. I didn't take a bath when I was there. A serial betrayer is someone I have never encountered before.
Let me tell you, Obaseki, that I am aware of your allies and will smoke you all out. This is political in nature; it is not the Benin artifact over which you were disputing the Oba (of Benin). I am more invested in the PDP than you are, Obaseki. Mention one thing you have done for the PDP. I have fought for this party.
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