A Rivers State chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Darlington Nwauju, has thrown his weight behind the party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, arguing that outsiders have no business meddling in the APC’s internal matters in the state.
Nwauju spoke on Tuesday, January 6, during Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, where he said recent events have reinforced the position long held by his associates within the party.
He said Basiru, whom he described as properly placed to speak for the party, had drawn a clear line: non-members should not attempt to direct how the APC is run in Rivers.
“Today, I am glad that our stance has been justified with the fact that our National Secretary has made a very clear statement that persons who are non-members of our political party have no business dictating to us how the party should be run in Rivers State,” Nwauju said.
Nwauju added that his camp agrees fully with Basiru’s view, insisting it reflects the right approach for the party at both state and national levels.
He also maintained that with the APC now having a sitting governor in Rivers State, the party’s constitution and tradition make the governor the state party leader, leaving no room, in his view, for non-APC figures to shape how the party relates with its governor or manages internal decisions.
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“APC now has a sitting governor in our midst and by the force of our own very convention; by our own practice as APC in Nigeria, the governor automatically becomes the leader of party in Rivers State.
“So, there is no way that a non-APC member can be dictating to the APC how to treat or how to associate with our governor who is a member of the political party.”
Nwauju said he expects the APC National Working Committee to adopt Basiru’s position as the party’s official stance on Rivers State.
His comments followed Basiru’s assertion that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has no standing to interfere in APC affairs in Rivers because he is not a party member.
Basiru said Wike therefore lacks the “locus” to get involved in the ruling party’s internal issues. Wike has, however, warned him to stay out of Rivers State politics.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara last year defected to the APC from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), weeks after his suspension as Rivers State governor elapsed.
Wike, from the PDP, is working in President Bola Tinubu’s government. His relationship with Fubara, whom he backed to become governor, has become shaky in recent months.