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Rivers State continues to be in the eye of the storm over the political crisis between Governor Siminalai Hubala and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike.
Hubala and his predecessor, Wike, have been at loggerheads since last year, with the conflict reportedly centered on control of the country’s resources and political structure.
Repeated interventions by stakeholders in the state, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and President Bola Tinubu, have failed to lead to reconciliation between the two parties.
Wike appears to have the upper hand with control of 27 of the 32 members of the state House of Assembly and the PDP structure in the state.
Despite the recommendation of the PDP Governors Forum to return Rivers leadership to Hubara, the Wike-sympathetic National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP recognized Wike supporters as legitimate state executive committee members. .
Local government elections and twists
The local government elections conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) have sparked further crisis in the state.
Despite a court ruling barring security services from participating in the elections, Hubala insisted that the elections would proceed as scheduled.
Wike supporters in the PDP and All Progressives Congress (APC) said RSIEC violated necessary provisions by not publishing the mandatory 90-day notice before fixing the election date. They boycotted the election, citing a ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja. election.
Before the election, Mr. Hubala reportedly instructed his supporters to contest the polls under the Action Peoples Party, APP platform, following Mr. Wike’s strong influence in the PDP.
New political structure of Tomihara and rivers
The election results showed that APP had the upper hand, winning the chairpersonship in 22 out of 23 local government areas and securing 314 out of 319 seats in 23 local government areas of the state.
This is a clear sign that Governor Favara has regained control of the LG organization ahead of the next election.
While many political players and party leaders slammed Hubala, others, including Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, supported the governor.
Naija News reports that the Chairman of the Board of Directors (BoT) of the PDP, Senator Adolphus Wabara, while speaking in the backdrop of local government elections, declared that the PDP has shot itself in the foot.
Wabara lamented that this is the first time in recent history that the ruling party in Rivers State, which has been dominated by the PDP since 1999, has lost its grassroots influence to a lesser-known political party.
Did PDP really lose Rivers State?
Segun Sowunmi, a former governorship candidate of the PDP in Ogun State, in an interview with Naija News, cited other states in similar situations, saying the Rivers LG election result meant the PDP lost the state. He said it was not something he would do.
“The idea that the PDP lost Mr. Rivers at the grassroots level because of the results of the local government elections is unacceptable,” he said. Wherever governors remained in office in all states, they won local government elections. This does not mean that there were no opposition parties. Take the case of Oyo, the PDP won all the local government elections, but that does not mean the APC is not there. Additionally, in Kano’s case, the APC remains a strong opposition force to the Kwankwaso movement.
“The situation in Rivus where APP is at the local government level is unfortunate, but it does not mean PDP is no longer present in the state. There are other politicians who will not support either Wike or Hubala, so what the party will do in the future remains to be seen. Time will tell. The masses are suffering from a political crisis, but that doesn’t mean the PDP is not strong there or cannot win elections there. It all depends on how quickly the party members resolve the issue. It depends on how it is resolved.”
When asked why party leaders failed to intervene in the political crisis in Rivers State, Shonmi said: “The party structure is designed in such a way that states, local governments, regions and the whole country have their own powers.The ongoing political crisis in Rivers State is also happening in other states. I don’t see anything dramatic. People’s personalities can make things worse, but I believe this is not an easy problem, and people are all adults in their own right. We should stop blaming the PDP for this.”
He added: “Rivers State is in a very difficult situation and in the current situation only the courts can resolve the crisis. It is also important that the courts expedite the final decision and preferably consolidate all cases into one.” What should be considered is whether the pro-Wike councilors have lost their positions in accordance with the law.The budget that Governor Nunohara is implementing is being managed as a proper budget and has received proper approval. Only the courts can manage that.”
