Foremost Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has made a bold call for the immediate expulsion of Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to help the party overcome its ongoing challenges. In a letter addressed to the PDP\u2019s Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, dated August 20, 2024, Clark underscored the need for a thorough investigation into Wike’s alleged anti-party activities, which have contributed to the political crisis in Rivers State.<\/p>\n
Chief Clark, in his letter, emphasized that the PDP’s National Working Committee (NWC) must take decisive action against Wike to safeguard the party’s integrity and future. He argued that allowing individuals who believe they are above the law to operate unchecked could lead to severe consequences for the party, potentially rendering them too powerful to control.<\/p>\n
“We already have enough issues on our hands as a nation because the persons responsible did not act fast when the cases were brewing,” Clark stated, highlighting the urgency of addressing Wike’s actions. The elder statesman urged the PDP leadership to establish a probe panel or committee to investigate Wike and other members who may be guilty of anti-party activities. If found guilty, Clark insists, they should face the appropriate sanctions as prescribed by the party’s constitution.<\/p>\n
Clark also criticized the recent attempts at reconciliation within the party, particularly the committee chaired by Major General Olagunsoye Oyinlola. According to Clark, the efforts have been futile, as the once-influential G-5 group, of which Wike was a prominent member, has disintegrated. He noted that while the Governor of Oyo State has returned to the party and assumed leadership in the South-West, the other three members are “floating about” without any clear allegiance.<\/p>\n
In his letter, Clark further expressed his concern over the actions of Acting National Chairman Umar Damagum, accusing him of undermining the party’s stability. He referenced Damagum’s legal actions against the PDP’s National Executive Committee (NEC) regarding the defection of 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Clark argued that such actions are contradictory to the party’s constitution and detrimental to the party’s unity.<\/p>\n
“From all indications, you are conniving with detractors of PDP to ruin the party, for the All Progressives Congress (APC). Allow Nigerians to decide what party they want through the ballot box. Stop colluding with Barr. Nyesom Wike to destroy the party. A day of reckoning will come for all of man\u2019s activities,” Clark warned, urging Damagum to reconsider his position and actions.<\/p>\n
As the PDP grapples with these internal conflicts, the party is set to inaugurate its recently constituted reconciliation and disciplinary committees today. According to a statement by PDP\u2019s National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the 25-member reconciliation committee will be chaired by former Osun State Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, with former Gombe State Governor Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo serving as secretary.<\/p>\n
In addition, a 26-member disciplinary committee has been established, chaired by Chief Tom Ikimi, with Eyitayo Jegede as secretary. Other notable members include Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, Chief Olabode George, Margaret Icheen, Dr. Sam Egwu, and Alhaji Abubakar Baraje. These committees are expected to play a crucial role in addressing the internal disputes and disciplinary issues that have plagued the PDP in recent months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Foremost Ijaw national leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has made a bold call for the immediate expulsion of Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to help the party overcome its ongoing challenges. In a letter addressed to the PDP\u2019s Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, dated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[177,172],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-44659","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abuja-reports","category-news","tag-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44659","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44659"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44664,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44659\/revisions\/44664"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}