The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) has no right to complain about the conduct of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, insisting that the ruling party must manage the political consequences of its own actions in Rivers State.
The PDP said Wike is no longer a member of the party and accused the APC of knowingly engaging him for political advantage, only to raise objections now that the relationship has become problematic.
The party’s position was stated on Tuesday in Abuja by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, while reacting to a public exchange between Wike and the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, over political developments in Rivers State.
The PDP spokesman said, “The National Secretary of the APC may genuinely not know who is or is not a member of the PDP, and may therefore be relying on outdated information suggesting that Wike was a PDP member. Wike was expelled from the PDP, along with his supporters, and that is why we sympathise with the problem the APC has brought upon itself by engaging Wike; someone they now lack the moral or legal standing to disown.
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“The law does not allow you to benefit from a wrong you created, nor can you complain of a voluntary injury. You cannot complain about an act you willingly undertook. So they should manage the situation they have created. After all, what was once seen as an asset has now become a liability, and they must deal with it.”
He rejected attempts to draw the PDP into the controversy, noting that the conduct now being criticised was previously applauded when it appeared to serve the APC’s interests.
“As for his (Basiru’s) comments, he should not drag the PDP into this. It is the same conduct he is now complaining about. When he was engaging in this conduct in a way that favoured the APC, they were jubilating and laughing. This same National Secretary did not complain even once.
“I have looked closely at his (Basiru’s) so-called activist credentials. We must be able to look at issues beyond partisan lines. When something is wrong, it is wrong. As a citizen, and as the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, if someone engages in anti-party activity or aligns with another party, I will call that person out. I will say clearly: this does not look good. Either leave that party and join us, or remain independent and support us openly,” the party said.
Ememobong maintained that the APC alone enjoyed whatever political gains arose from Wike’s actions and must therefore deal with the fallout.
