Fubara, Wike in crucial battle over Rivers structures

AMID the raging claims and counter-claims over the local government election coming up in Rivers State, AMAECHI OKONKWO, reflects on happenings in the camps of the major stakeholders in the state.

With just days to the October 5 local government election in Rivers State and the insistence of the two leading political parties: the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC) to boycott the exercise, a new kid on the block has emerged and is looking prepared to dominate the polls, which has already been enmeshed in all sorts of controversies. Enters the Action Peoples Party (APP). The party was little heard of during the 2023 general elections which more than a dozen political parties running for different offices on offer during that exercise. The APP has suddenly become the toast of the coming local government elections in Rivers State and the reason is not far-fetched. The doors to political prominence in Rivers were flung open to the APP by the intractable political disagreement between the Minister of the Federal Capital territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and the state governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, both of the PDP.

The crisis has their members lining behind each of the gladiators and refusing any amicable resolution thus tearing the PDP between Wike and Fubara in a war that has as its bone of contention, the desire of the former Governor Wike to continue to be in control of the party and by extension the state, trying to relegate the incumbent Governor Fubara to the background. All efforts, including the intervention of President Bola Tinubu and other stakeholders to resolve the impasse, have failed as none of the warring parties is ready to yield any ground in the war that has been raging since October 2023. So Wike, relying on his stranglehold on the PDP, both at the state and national levels, influenced the recent congresses of the PDP to ensure that his loyalists were “selected” as members of the PDP executives at the ward, local government and the state levels leaving Governor Fubara and his supporters without any platform for the coming local government elections.

And because the election is the first major test of his popularity and a golden opportunity to mount a credible fight against Wike in the control of the political structure of Rivers and opportunity of gaining for himself a firm footing to administer the state, all eyes have been on Fubara and his supporters to see how they manoeuver this political corner. However, the governor, has as usual remained taciturn about whether he and his supporters would be participating in the elections or not, thus giving vent to the widespread speculations that he had asked his supporters, led by the 23 local government caretaker committee chairmen and councillors to join the election fray on the platform of other political parties.

Shortly after the speculations began to make the rounds in the state, a hitherto unknown APP suddenly sprung into life, acquiring and renovating a new state office at the GRA part of the state capital. Even a dynamite attack on the office in the course of the renovation did not deter the party from continuing with its preparation for the election. It is currently also being speculated that all caretaker committee chairmen and their councillors, on the orders of Governor Fubara, have concluded arrangements to contest the election under the banner of the APP.

Giving vent to this speculation is the governor’s continued silence, on the coming election, just as none of his officials as in several other times has deemed it necessary to utter a word as to his plans nor that of the government on the elections. Inquiries sent to Senibo Joseph Johnson, the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, went unanswered after failing to also respond to his telephone line.

But, by its recent utterances and actions, it is becoming clear that indeed the APP is turning the beautiful bride of the gladiators in the political crisis in Rivers and the party to beat in the October 5 local government polls. Most of the supporters of Governor Fubara who are contesting the election have defected to the party.

Two of the caretaker committee chairmen,  Ezebunwo Ichemati, CTC chairman of Port Harcourt City Council and Marvin Yobana, his Khana LGA counterpart, have made their defection public.

Ichemati’s poster is sighted conspicuously sitting on a large billboard in the heart of the state capital with APP logo, campaigning for chairmanship position while Yobana, the CTC Chairman of Khana LGA and his supporters have formally announced their defection to the APP.

The CTC chairman of Port Harcourt City in his campaign message on the platform of the APP, assured that he and his councillors would provide credible leadership if elected into office.

He was quoted as saying; “We will defend the interests of the party (APP) and the state if elected into office. We will also adhere to the directives to avoid engaging in negative campaigns”.

Also speaking at an event in Khana Local Council, Yobana; who did not get the nod of Governor Fubara to return as Chairman, said: “I hereby announce that I have moved to APP and I introduce to you the person that would be sworn in after the October 5, election as the executive chairman of Khana, Mr. Martins Ibibo.” The chairman of the APP in Rivers, Sunny Wokekoro, who confirmed the development, said the local government election would be a new narrative, new frontier, new threshold in political leadership in the state. He added that the APP would entrench a new system of governance at the grassroots level that would touch the lives of the people and impact the society. It is the only party campaigning for the election with its train visiting all the three senatorial zones. It started its campaign on September 24, with Rivers Southeast senatorial district in Bori, going through Rivers West and ending with Rivers East senatorial zone on September 26.

Not much has been heard of all the other political parties including the Labour Party (LP) and the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), which indicated interest in participating in the elections and has been part of the veiled election programme being implemented by the State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).

On its part, the (APC) faction led by Chief Tony Okocha and the PDP at different fora had insisted that they would not be part of the exercise. The Okocha-led faction of the party reiterated its decision not to participate in the local government election, describing the planned exercise as a charade. The faction, which has the recognition of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, insisted that the election would not hold, saying that holding the election would tantamount to an attempt to disrespect a court order that put on hold all activities in the council pending decision of the court on the tenure of its leadership. Okocha stated that there was no sign to indicate that the election would hold in October, stressing that a federal high court presided over by Justice Peter Lifu “has prevented the INEC from releasing sensitive materials for the election. The court also restrained the Police from involving in the election.” Restating that APC would boycott the elections, Okocha said: “Governor Siminalayi Fubara should stop deceiving Rivers State people because he is aware that election cannot hold when the party has a court case. He knows the order restraining activities at the LGA has not been vacated. The election will end in nullity.”

Though the APC faction led by Chief Emeka Beke had said it would participate in the elections, there is no evidence to show that the party presented candidates for the elections. Besides, nothing has been heard from the party concerning campaigns or mobilising members of the party for the exercise. Meanwhile, the chairman of RSIEC, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retd) had reassured that the scheduled date for the council elections is sacrosanct. Addressing participants at the training of master trainers for RSIEC Staff, in Port Harcourt, Justice Enebeli cited the state electoral law and the recent judgement of Supreme Court which empowers them to conduct the schedule elections. He emphasised that RSIEC was fully prepared and determined to conduct a free, fair, credible and violence-free election.

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