A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bode George, has accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of influencing the selection of governorship candidates for both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP in Rivers State.
NewsWatch Nigeria reports that George described the development as troubling, warning that it could destabilise the PDP and the country’s political environment if not addressed.
The PDP chieftain spoke on Wednesday during an interview on Arise Television’s *Morning Show*.
George expressed concern over the lingering crisis in the PDP, describing it as unprecedented.
He criticised some party members, particularly those in Wike’s faction, for allegedly refusing to abide by the party’s rules and procedures.
George recalled that the Court of Appeal in Ibadan had earlier directed the aggrieved parties to meet and resolve their internal crisis, but said some of those involved refused to attend.
He said the matter later went to the Supreme Court, which upheld the suspension of three members of the party’s National Working Committee.
George said, “The point is, you can only force a horse to the brook; you cannot force that horse to drink.
“You understand it is in their own purview to accept that there is a political party with a program, with a statute, with procedures, and if they fail to abide, that’s why I call them agent provocateurs.
“You remember the Court of Appeal in Ibadan said we should go and hold a meeting and see how we can resolve our internal problem. They refuse to turn up.
“Now they have gone to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has said all three members of the working committee remain suspended.”
George Urges Tinubu To Caution Wike
The PDP elder questioned why the affected individuals would not accept the decision of the apex court, stressing that no one should act above the law.
He said, “So would you not accept the ruling of the highest body? You know, if you want to be a good politician, I will refer him, fortunately he’s a lawyer, there is a Magna Carta charter in England here, which states that even the King of England cannot be above the law.
“So nobody can be above the law.”
George urged President Bola Tinubu to caution Wike, whom he accused of acting as an “agent provocateur.”
He said, “There is more of what they call a political undertaker and an agent provocateur. You don’t need this in this country, for God’s sake.
“It will not only be him if he’s able to destabilise the country. The fault will be on the president, because he’s not the president.”
George alleged that Wike, while still claiming to be a PDP member, was involved in deciding candidates for both the APC and PDP in Rivers State.
He said, “A man who says he’s a member of our party has appointed somebody, now nominated somebody to be the governorship candidate for APC in Rivers, and is also nominating somebody to be the PDP governorship candidate.
“What kind of thing is this? I had never seen anything like this. Somebody needs to talk to him, and the only man who can caution him is the president.”
The former PDP deputy national chairman warned that the situation could trigger a wider political crisis if not handled carefully.
He said, “We do not want a repeat of what happened in 1962 in the western region because you can only know the beginning of a crisis. How it went, you cannot know.”
