In both the realm of politics and the broader spectrum of life, the enduring adage that "one good turn deserves another" remains a steadfast truth. It is, therefore, entirely reasonable to anticipate that politicians who have expended their utmost efforts to establish a government under the banner of a political party should, in turn, anticipate recompense for their investments of not only material resources, but also time and unflagging energy dedicated to securing victory for said party in elections.
The disconcerting tableau of such a scenario currently unfolds within the ranks of the Rivers State All Progressive Congress (APC). For a party that once held the mantle of opposition against the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) both within the state and at the national level, up until the elections that ushered in President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 and President Bola Tinubu in 2023, the puzzling entente between the former Governor of Rivers State and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, demands rigorous scrutiny, impartiality, and judicious analysis. This is imperative if President Tinubu is intent on rewarding Wike, regardless of whatever role he may have played in securing the party's victory in the last election, without incurring the detriment of the party members in the state, who constitute the veritable bedrock of the party's structure.
Certain members within the party in the state have raised their concerns with the President, deeming their treatment as neglect and rejection. According to an undisclosed chieftain of the party in Rivers State, the APC Constitution, as outlined in Article 9, establishes an unequivocal obligation to prioritize the appointment of party members over other political considerations. He asserts, "The President possesses sufficient political acumen to comprehend that he treads a path in Rivers State that offends not only divine providence, but also public morality and ethical conscience. I shall not elucidate to his aides the contents of Article 9 in the APC Constitution, which unambiguously mandates the elevation of party members above extraneous political factors. Any APC member with discernment recognizes that inducting non-APC affiliates into a cabinet constituted by the APC constitutes an affront to party integrity."
As the National Leader and erstwhile Chairman of the APC Board of Trustees, President Tinubu stands at the forefront. If he or his close associates have momentarily overlooked this, he remains poised to exercise prudence and restraint, having played a pivotal role in the appointments of Dr. Muiz Banire (SAN) and Babatunde Ogala (SAN) as National Legal Advisers of the APC. No other luminary within our esteemed party enjoys this privilege, leaving no room for any plea of ignorance concerning the tenets enshrined in the party's Constitution emanating from that quarter.
Therefore, let it be impressed upon the President, in consonance with the exhortation of a former American President, that the course of events hinges upon his leadership. Let him rectify the glaring lapses in judgment pertaining to Rivers State. In response to queries regarding Wike's appointment, the chieftain contends, "You are familiar with the adage of affixing an undeserved stigma to someone? There exists, somewhere, an unseen hand driving a plot to diminish our efforts and sacrifices, motivated by inexplicable reasons, regarding the composition of the APC in Rivers, a Southern State. The APC leadership, including President Tinubu and former President Buhari, witnessed the fragmentation of the APC in Rivers State in the lead-up to the 2019 elections. Inner discord and discordance are not unique to our state chapter and cannot serve as a pretext for idly watching the roof cave in on our heads, with our candidates excluded from the 2019 ballot by the Judiciary."
In my estimation, the foundation of the current state of affairs within the Tinubu presidency was laid during the botched 2018 Ward Congresses and the ejection of all our candidates in 2019. However, divine providence consistently outpaces human machination. Those who perceived their strength in a debilitated Rivers State Chapter of the APC, irrespective of the unprecedented losses we bore, are now attributing Tinubu's victory in our state during the February 25th general elections to Wike's influence in 2019. I make this assertion because, aside from indifference or an overt alignment with one faction in the internal crises that beset our state chapter after the April 2018 Ward Congresses, those who ascribe Tinubu's triumph to Wike serve as conduits of betrayal.
"They are bereft of piety and devoid of truth. I challenge those who make such claims to furnish evidence of Wike campaigning for Bola Tinubu in any of the 23 Local Government Areas where Wike personally led the PDP campaigns for the 2023 elections. Let them present a solitary shred of proof demonstrating Wike's call to his supporters to cast their votes for the incumbent President, and I will not only publish a retraction of my statement here but also extend a formal apology to Wike and those who peddle this spurious narrative to rationalize the injustice wrought upon the President's party in Rivers State. Moreover, I challenge those who assert that Tinubu's victory in our state is attributable to Wike to juxtapose the results Wike's PDP assigned to President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015 and the PDP's presidential candidate in 2019, Atiku Abubakar, with the final tally of just over 400,000 votes declared by INEC for Tinubu in 2023.
"Recall that the 2023 figures encompass the votes the President garnered from Rivers APC, Magnus Abe's Social Democratic Party (SDP), the non-partisan segment of the Rivers electorate, and Wike's PDP.
"What mathematical formula, grounded in the science of precision, could elucidate the marked decline in the figures reported for victors of the presidential election in Rivers State across the three election cycles I have delineated? How does a candidate backed by Wike, who presides as Governor, amass notably fewer votes than candidates lacking such a consolidated base of support, within the demographic parameters I have outlined?"
On Monday, September 4, 2023, a cadre of disheartened Youth members from the Rivers State APC took to the streets, registering their protest at what they decried as a profound sense of disillusionment, astonishment, and a profound feeling of abandonment in the face of continued neglect suffered by APC members in Rivers State, particularly the younger generation.
In an open epistle disseminated to the press, these youthful party members, hailing from all 23 local government areas of Rivers State, expressed their lamentations over the appointment of non-party affiliates by President Tinubu, viewing it as a tacit endorsement of those who employed every means at their disposal to stifle the APC's growth in Rivers State. The missive underscored the distressing predicaments endured by party members since 2015, culminating in the recent general elections.
No comments:
Post a Comment