COMMENTARY
Rivers Power Tussle Deepens as PDP Tells APC to “Manage the Monster” It Created Over Wike Alliance
…Tells PDP “You Can’t Cry Foul Now”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has taken a firm swipe at the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), declaring that the party has no moral or legal basis to complain about the political conduct of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in Rivers State.
The opposition party insisted that whatever political discomfort the APC is currently experiencing in Rivers is entirely self-inflicted, stressing that Wike is no longer a member of the PDP and that the ruling party willingly embraced him for political advantage.
The PDP’s position was made public on Tuesday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, while reacting to a heated public exchange between Wike and the APC National Secretary, Senator Ajibola Basiru, over unfolding political developments in Rivers State.
Ememobong faulted the APC for attempting to distance itself from Wike only after the relationship it once celebrated began to generate controversy.
According to him, the ruling party knowingly engaged Wike and benefited politically from his actions, and therefore must now take responsibility for the consequences.
He 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Secretary of the APC may genuinely not know who is or is not a member of the PDP, and may therefore be relying on outdated information suggesting that Wike was a PDP member.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.
“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.”
The PDP spokesman firmly rejected any attempt to drag his party into the ongoing controversy, arguing that the same conduct now being criticised by the APC was openly applauded when it appeared to favour the ruling party’s political interests.
He stated, “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 further maintained that the APC was the sole beneficiary of whatever political leverage Wike brought to the table and therefore cannot feign surprise at the current fallout.
He added, “What the APC is experiencing is a voluntary injury they inflicted on themselves, so they must manage him. After all, the benefits of this nuisance accrued to the APC, and they must now manage the fallout.
“This is what happens when you keep feeding a monster. One day, you become food in the belly of that monster.
“Some people keep feeding the monster, thinking they will always escape, believing they will always have enough food to offer it. They forget that one day the monster may tire of the food being fed to it and ask instead, what would this person taste like? And then, they end up in the belly of the monster.”
The PDP’s reaction underscores the deepening political tensions surrounding Rivers State, as alliances, loyalties, and power calculations continue to shift ahead of future electoral contests, leaving parties to grapple with the consequences of their strategic choices.