2015: Rivers PDP Factions Clash In Abuja

There was pandemonium at the national campaign office of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Maitama, Abuja, yesterday as  all other political aspirants except the Minister of State for Education, Ezebunwo Nyesom Wike were denied entrance to where members of the National Integration Committee, South-South zone, were meeting.
The meeting was aimed at settling grievances among the party members in the zone and yesterday was allotted for the aggrieved to be heard.
But only Wike and his supporters were allowed to gain entrance into the venue of the meeting.
Many opponents of the minister, who came to present petitions to the Senator Iya Abubakar-led committee were allegedly chased away by thugs.
Those allegedly assaulted  included a legal practitioner, Mr. Tubotamuno Dick; a former commissioner for water resources under Governor Peter Odili, Mr. Lolo Ibieneye; Prof. Israel Owate, Dr. Sowaribi Tolofari, Mr. Sara Igbe and Chief Bekinbo Soberekon.
Some journalists were also allegedly harassed while others had either their cameras damaged or their recording tape recorders seized.
Dick, who is a legal adviser to the Network for Defence of Democracy and Good Governance, suffered an injury near his left eye as a result of the beating.
While the thugs were beating him, policemen attached to the venue of the meeting failed to intervene, as one of them said they were handicapped because of the personalities involved.
However, the policemen joined the thugs to chase away politicians who were said not to be members of the Grassroots Democratic Initiatives (GDI), but belong to other political camps within the party.
Dick, who spoke with our correspondent after the incident said, “I came to defend the petition we sent to the committee, but see what happened here today.
“I have been beaten by thugs and these thugs were joined by the policemen attached to someone who wants to be a governor of my state. We shall wait and see.”
Ibineneye also said that he was shoved and beaten, but warned that the PDP in the state would soon explode, adding that what happened at Abuja would have been a child’s play if the meeting had held in the state.
He said that out of 22 people who brought petitions to the committee, only four people were allowed inside.
Another aggrieved member, who was also harassed and sent out from the gate of the building, Sara Igbe insisted that there was no way another Ikwerre person would succeed the current Governor of the State, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
Sara Igbe, who is from Akuku Toru Local Government Area of the state said, “They are violating the party’s constitution in the state because the party recongnises zoning of offices in the state and everywhere.
Wike, after the meeting, insisted that there was peace in the state PDP.
“There is peace in the party in the state,” he said in a brief interview after the meeting.
Some of the protesters later went to the national headquarters of the party where they were addressed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh.
The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) National Publicity Secretary, Mr Olisa Metuh, has assured party members that its leadership would not allow the imposition of candidates on members in any state of the federation.
He gave the assurance yesterday in Abuja while addressing some aggrieved Ijaw youths from Rivers who stormed the party national headquarters.
The PDP spokesman said that the party members would be given the opportunity to elect and nominate aspirants of their choice who would eventually become the party‘s candidates for elections in 2015.
“We are promising you that that is what will happen in Rivers and every single state of the federation.
Our correspondent reports that the PDP National Presidential Campaign Office, venue of the PDP South South Integration Committee’s sitting, was besieged by aggrieved members.
The source disclosed that trouble started shortly after Wike arrived for the meeting and the party officials shut the door to other invited stake holders.
A PDP leader from Rivers State, Hon. Lolo Ibieneye was said to have challenged the decision to shut the door, a move which resulted in an altercation between him and Wike.
Other governorship aspirants from the state were also barred by PDP security men from entering the venue of the meeting.
Among the aspirants affected are Senator Lee Maeba, Hon. Beckinbo Dagogo-Jack, Samson Ngeribara and Oseleye Ojuka.
Also barred were Barrister Fafaa Dan Princewill, Professor John Owate and Dr. John Imege, who decried the shutout as “indecency in a democracy.”
The aspirants and their supporters alleged that the committee had been compromised by Wike, who is equally a governorship aspirant.
Groups such as those supporting Lancelot Anyanya, The Third Force, Concerned Nigerian Students, among several others protested the manner the committee handled the meeting.
A detachment of armed policemen arrived at the Legacy House at about 11.40am and chased away the protesters.
Senator Maeba told newsmen that Wike’s conduct was unbecoming of a man eyeing the seat of governor and called on party leaders to avail all the aspirants a level playing field to ensure credible gubernatorial primary election.
Delegates from Rivers were the second to appear before the committee, headed by Sen. Iya Abubakar.
The committee is expected to receive memoranda from party members from South South, to enable the party to address some issues.

Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi (right), chatting with the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Hon Worgu Boms, during a church service to mark Nigeria’s 54th independence celebration in Port Harcourt, recently.