PDP BoT visits Fubara, vows to resolve Rivers crisis

For the first time since October 2023 when the political crisis rocking Rivers State started, an advisory organ of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Board of Trustees (BoT) has paid an official visit to the state governor, Siminialayi Fubara and his camp to hear their side of the story.

The BoT of the PDP led by its chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, who said they were on a fact-finding mission, also promised to visit the rival camp insisting that “there are always two sides to a coin.”

The BoT members held discussions with the governor and key members of his political camp in the state PDP at the Rivers Government House Port Harcourt on Tuesday.

Wabara, in his remarks, said they visited as the conscience of the party in search of peace and unity following what he described as the ungodly tension in recent times that had threatened the PDP in Rivers.

Wabara, a former Senate President, said the PDP was scared of losing Rivers State and vowed that the BoT would seek constitutional resolution to the crisis.

He claimed that if the PDP truly lost Rivers, the future of Nigeria would be lost with no abiding hope.

Wabara acknowledged that Fubara had demonstrated enormous care for the PDP, saying the governor had been patient with the inactivity of the party leadership amidst the crisis.

He said: “We, the Board of Trustees of this party, came here in search of peace and unity of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“We have been reading all kinds of things on the pages of newspapers and the Internet, for those who are Internet savvy. But, we, as elders of this great party decided to come to hear from the horse’s mouth.

“First of all, we want to thank you for still being there because this party should not be allowed to die. And, it is for this very reason that I am thanking you, on behalf of my colleagues, and as you can see, it’s not from one geo-political zone. We are well-represented nationally.

“We were scared Sir, when we heard or read speculations, perceptions or what have you, that the party, if we are not careful, might lose Rivers State. Of course, if we lose Rivers State, Nigeria has lost its future.

“We don’t want what happened in 2015, and 2023 to repeat itself. These men and women you see here are very neutral. But as the conscience of the party, we must go by the rule of law. And anything you do, going by the rule of law, can never be wrong. It may be delayed, but it cannot be wrong.

“I don’t want to describe it. Otherwise, as a Governor, we have former Governors here, I doubt if they would have taken as much as you have. So, on behalf of this party, once again, let me thank you for your resilience, your wisdom, and the fact that you are still in this party.

“And to assure you that the Board of Trustees under my watch and with these serious-minded Nigerians, will deal with the matter as constitutionally allowed”.

Speaking after the meeting, Wabara expressed appreciation to Fubara for allowing them to hear his side of the story, and noted with optimism, that the political crisis in the state would soon be resolved.

He assured that the delegation would meet with the other party in the crisis to also hear from them, as according to him, “there is always two sides to a coin”, adding that it was better late than never.

Wabara reiterated that the PDP under his watch as BoT Chairman, would not allow what happened to PDP in 2015 and 2023 to repeat itself and would not stand helplessly while the largest party in Africa was being destroyed by a few individuals.

He said that based on its findings, the BoT would make its recommendations to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP for implementation insisting that the party must be united to win the 2027 elections.

Addressing the BoT members, Fubara in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Nelson Chukwudi, said he was still a member of the PDP and that Rivers was still a PDP-controlled state.

The governor emphasised the importance of clarifying that position to discountenance rumours being peddled in some quarters that he had left the PDP.

Fubara said as was normally expected, he doubted his membership of the PDP at some time but the visitation from the BoT had offered a stronger conviction that he was a member of the PDP family.

He said: “I want to thank the Chairman and members of the Board of Trustees. Honestly speaking, if I was having any doubt about my membership first, of this great party, I think today, I have gotten a reconfirmation that I am still, not minding the drama around, a member of this party.

“And, I want to thank you for taking all the trouble to come to Rivers State to see the Governor and the supporters of the party, genuinely. I need to use that word, genuinely, because we, who are here, are members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), undiluted.

“For once, I am happy to see the leaders, among whom are some founding fathers of the PDP, like Chief Bode George, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo, joining the delegation here to talk about the unity of the party.”

Fubara recalled their courage, sacrifices and foresight when they crafted the Constitution of the PDP and nurtured it to become what people had come to know and greatly benefited from.

The governor said: “It doesn’t matter the number of people who watered it (PDP) and it became what it is. I am happy that today, they are with us here to discuss the issue of Rivers State.

“I want to assure members of our party, genuine members of PDP that are here with us, that this is another hope to show that our decision to stand by the party, still standing by the party, is not a wrong decision”.

Fubara stated that “the visit by the delegation of BoT is for one purpose, to ascertain what is the problem that has caused so much dissatisfaction and tearing down the party; how it started and how it degenerated to what it is today.”

The governor said in such efforts to search out the truth, it was also vital for them to understand how passionately he cherished the importance of information and the need to stay on the path of truth.

Fubara said: “I am very conscious of the importance of information. I know that a lot of information is flying here and there. But, I also know that whatever I have said anywhere, I have still maintained that position.

“What I have said in Abuja is the same thing I say in Port Harcourt. If I have had any encounter with anybody in Lagos, I don’t think my story has changed. So, I strongly believe that when we go into the executive session, I will let the board members who have visited us know or hear my side of the story.

“But, so far, what is important this afternoon is that we are still members of the party, and the owners of the party have visited us.

“So, for those people outside who are carrying all sorts of rumour and propaganda, at least, this visit will put those propaganda to rest, and to tell the world that we are and we remain members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).”

Source: Nation