PDP not personal property, Obaseki tells Wike

Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has warned his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike, not to cause disruption in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), maintaining that all members are equal under the platform.

Obaseki was responding to Wike’s outburst on his deputy, Philip Shaibu, over the concerns Shaibu raised about how they were being treated in PDP after their defection to the party.

Obaseki, in a statement he personally signed on Monday, said that it was surprising that Wike could resort to personal attacks on Shaibu without reaching out to him (Obaseki) as colleague-governors before his public outburst.

In the statement titled, ‘Obaseki to Wike: PDP is not your personal property, Edo cannot be procured’, Obaseki described Wike’s attack as “most unfortunate and totally uncalled for”.

“No one is against his desire to run for president, however, his ambition should not be embarked on in such a way that it would cause disruption at different levels, such as the PDP Governors’ Forum as well as different chapters of the party across the country.

“It clearly amounts to a delusion of grandeur, for any one man to nurse the idea that he owns or has more stake in the PDP and everyone should pander to him.

“We are all equal stakeholders in the party and an aggregate of the ideas, opinions, and contributions of all leaders and members should form the position of the party and not the view of one individual or a select few.

“While Governor Wike is free to use his resources as he deems fit in pursuit of his ambition, he should not attempt to cow, intimidate, cajole and threaten others into doing his bidding. Edo State cannot and will not be procured for anyone’s personal ambition,” the statement read in part.

Furthermore, Obaseki while exonerating Shaibu, noted that it was “Wike, who has at different times, threatened the PDP”.

He listed the instances to include: “On September 16, 2018, Governor Wike threatened the party that there would be grave consequences if it moved the National Convention from Port Harcourt in the run-up to the 2019 presidential election.

“On September 12, 2019, Governor Wike also threatened to cause trouble for the party over the emergence of Hon. Ndudi Elumelu as the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives.”