The internal crisis rocking the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State deepened on Monday as the party’s National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, attacked Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, accusing him of destabilising the ruling party and daring him to resign.
Basiru warned that Wike must either stop interfering in APC affairs or “immediately resign” from President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued in Abuja, the APC scribe said he was reacting to what he described as “the tirade of the Minister of the FCT against my person and my office as the National Secretary of the APC,” after he stated that “all members of the NWC must accord any sitting Governor his due respect and that the Governors remain the leaders of the Party in their States.”
Basiru expressed disbelief that “such an innocuous statement can elicit such uncouth responses from no less than a member of the Federal Executive Council.”
According to him, it was unacceptable for Wike to sit in the cabinet of an APC-led government while allegedly sowing discord within the party.
He said “he cannot be in the Federal Executive Council of an APC Government and be causing confusion within any organ or structure of the Party at any level, using the leverage of that same office.”
Basiru added pointedly that “the honourable thing to do is to resign his appointment as Minister.”
The APC National Secretary further dismissed Wike’s interference in party affairs, stressing that “our records indicate that Minister Nyesom Wike is not a member of our Party APC so he lacks the locus to dabble into the affairs our Party.”
Earlier in the day, Wike had fired a stern warning at Basiru, ordering him to stay away from Rivers State politics.
The minister issued the threat during a thank-you visit to Oyigbo Local Government Area, accusing some political actors of exploiting the N600 billion allegedly left in Rivers coffers to speak recklessly about the state.
The clash followed remarks credited to APC Vice Chairman (South-South), Victor Giadom, who had referred to Governor Siminalayi Fubara as “the so-called Governor” during Wike’s earlier visit to Khana and Gokana LGAs.
Giadom was also quoted as saying Fubara could not secure a second term without Wike.
Reacting, Basiru had faulted the comments, insisting that the governor’s office deserved respect, regardless of political disagreements.
In a Facebook post, he said, “I find it unfortunate that a member of the NWC… was referring to a governor in our party as a ‘so-called governor of Rivers State’.
“The office of the governor is an exalted position, and whoever is occupying it must be respected, irrespective of whatever political differences you have.”
But Wike struck back hard, declaring Rivers State a political “no-go area” and warning Basiru to learn from the fate of others.
He thundered:
“Let me warn those who come to Rivers State, because you have heard that we have N600bn, you come here, you collect, and you open your mouth to talk anyhow.
“I say it here, take this message to your National Secretary, leave Rivers State alone. Go and ask those who have done it before. Don’t take our support for Mr President for granted. You have to be careful with statements you make.
“Today, you are enjoying in Osun, you don’t know those who did the work. You are opening your mouth to talk about Rivers State. Anything you see, take it.
“Go and ask other people what has happened to them before. If your hand burns, no be me burn am o. This state is a no-go area. Take the one you have taken, stop making unnecessary comments”.
‘I won’t be intimidated’ — Basiru
Hitting back on Monday, Basiru said his role as National Secretary empowered him to speak on party affairs nationwide.
He said he was “imbued with the responsibility to protect the interests of the Party and all its members and structures,” stressing that “my comments regarding the affairs of the APC in Rivers State cannot be an undue interference in the affairs of Rivers State.”
He added firmly that “as National Secretary, my activities cannot be confined to my home state, Osun State.”
Basiru dismissed Wike’s claim that APC leaders were scrambling for Rivers’ alleged N600 billion, describing it as “nothing but cheap blackmail which has become his stock-in-trade.”
Defending his integrity, he said “my background, track-record is that of unquestionable integrity,” daring Wike to “prove his allegations or we may meet in court.”
He also brushed aside what he called veiled threats, warning that Wike was “not God and may be overplaying his political card.”
Basiru declared: “my faith is in God and will not succumb to cheap threats such as the one from Wike.”
He further noted that he was “one of the young Nigerians that confronted Military rule, fighting for democracy, when the likes of Wike were nowhere in sight.”
On Wike’s open support for President Tinubu, Basiru insisted it did not confer APC membership, stressing that “his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, does not automatically make him a member of the APC.”
He ended with a warning that “millions of non-APC Nigerians also support Mr President and his own is no different,” adding that “his attempt to destabilize our Party in Rivers State will not be tolerated and he cannot bring the spirit of PDP into the APC.”
