The Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum said its Chairman and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, will not hand over the party to President Bola Tinubu.
The PUNCH reports that moves by 24 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara resulted in turbulence in the state on Monday, as the governor’s loyalists stormed the assembly complex in protest against the plot.
The PDP Governors Forum had on Tuesday, after its forum meeting, commended Tinubu for his prompt intervention in the state’s political crisis.
In their effort to reconcile Wike and Fubara, members of the forum, on Wednesday, met with the FCT minister in Abuja and again commended Tinubu for finding Wike worthy of appointment despite being a member of the opposition party.
Members of the party, especially those loyal to the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, such as his Presidential Campaign Council spokesperson, Daniel Bwala, knocked the governors for visiting Wike and praising Tinubu.
The PDP Governors Forum in a statement by its Director General, Cyril Maduabum, revealed that it was the Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum and Kwara State Governor, Abdul Rahman Abdul-Razaq, that intimated Tinubu of the situation in Rivers State.
Maduabum who made it known that all the governors of the 36 states supported the move, described it as disingenuous for certain persons to lampoon the courtesies extended to Tinubu for his intervention.
“It should be noted that the events that played out in Rivers State had national security implications; it had the potential to lead to a breakdown of law and order. Indeed, the Rivers State Police Command acknowledged as much in its statement issued on Wednesday, November 1, 2023,” he added.
The DG of the PDP Forum explained that the President had to intervene to nip the crisks in the bud.
The statement read in part, “Nigeria’s history is replete with instances where a development in one state could snowball and affect the whole country. Rivers State is one of the major oil-producing states in Nigeria. A breach of peace in Rivers State, considering its strategic value and importance, no doubt, could affect other states of the federation.
“Indeed, it is a sign of good leadership and a high sense of duty that Gov. Bala Mohammed summoned and held an emergency meeting of the Forum immediately after the Rivers State matter came up. We think that he deserves credit for this.
“There is no way Governor Bala Mohammed, being a lover of peace in all parts of the country could fold his hands and fail to act or appreciate the good efforts of the President in finding a solution to the crisis. This further explains the shuttle diplomacy employed by the PDP Governors’ Forum led by Gov. Bala Mohammed in visiting and counselling the dramatis personae in the crises.”
Maduabum declared that the unity, peace and tranquillity of the country transcend politics and political leanings, saying the Forum has not done anything wrong by thanking the efforts of Tinubu to resolve the crisis in Rivers State.
It added, “Senator Bala Mohammed is not trying and will not do anything to hand over the PDP, a leading and formidable opposition party to the President, who was elected on the platform of another party. The situation in Rivers State on October 30, 2023 was not just a PDP affair. No.”
