Wike: Testimony of a man’s loyalty to his party

While the founding fathers braved the odds and summoned the courage to give the then military junta a quit notice from the governance of Nigeria, Wike stood firmly for the party at its lowest moments and toughest periods in the post 2015 era.

At its formative stage in 1998, the PDP had its path clearly charted. It was conceived as a national party, bringing together patriots and statesmen from every corner of the country. It was envisioned as a broad- based political platform peopled by democrats who came together to take over the reins of power from the military rulers who had overstayed their welcome and needed to retreat to their barracks for good.
The PDP enjoyed so much goodwill from the populace that it won the 1999 General Elections and formed the first government in the current political dispensation. Even the military top brass at that time were confident that they were quitting the stage but leaving Nigeria in safe and capable hands.
It lived up to that expectation, ruling back to back for sixteen years.

However, it’s star began to dim on August 31, 2013, at the National Convention of the party. On that fateful day, the former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the company of seven ( 7 ) PDP, state governors walked out on the party at the Eagles Square, venue of the convention.

This move resulted in the formation of the New Peoples Democratic Party ( N-PDP), a splinter group, which later went into alliance with the All Progressive Congress ( APC.). The ultimate damage was done when on March 29, 2015, the PDP lost the presidential election and the APC came into power.

Everything was in disarray. The new government was very unfriendly to the PDP, its members as well as supporters nationwide.
Many of our members were hounded into jail on trumped up charges. It was dangerous to be in the opposition party at that time.
This resulted in the mass exodus of many party faithful as they moved into APC to escape from the wrath, harassment and intimidation of the party in power.

The new Lords of the Manor were not satisfied with taking over power, they didn’t want the PDP to ever breathe again. They know the capacity and potency of a party that had held sway for 16 consecutive years and they were bent on destroying the legacies of that party.

The PDP would have been dead as an opposition party in Nigeria, if not for a man like Wike who rose to the challenge at that very difficult period. He stood up to mobilise his colleagues to resist the attacks being launched by the propaganda machinery of the APC. It was not an easy task because the new kids on the block were ruthlessness and brutally vengeful.
Wike, drew inspiration from his experiences as a former Local Government Chairman, Minister of Education and a grass-root warrior. He was able to not just galvanize support for the party in Rivers state, but cross Nigeria.
Through his mobilisation and interventions, the leadership disputes foisted on our great party began to give way.
On July 12, 2017 the Supreme Court sacked Ali Modu Sheriff who was earlier declared by the appellate court as the Chairman of our party. In his place, the court reinstated Ahmed Makarfi as the Caretaker Committee Chairman, and authentic leader of the party

On December 9th 2017, five months after the Supreme Court Judgement, Prince Uche Secondus was elected as the National Chairman of the PDP at tne National Convention of the party.

In all these, Governor Wike was instrumental for most of the processes. He saw to the resolution of the Secondus-Gulak saga and that of Makarfi-Sheriff, driving the many legal processes that led to the victory at the Supreme Court.

Even after the historic victory at the Supreme Court, it was the same Wike that was traveling around the country, seeking resolutions to the many disagreements among party faithful. He built new alliances that promoted unity and synergy amongst PDP Governors and party leaders alike.

Gov. Wike literally fought for the soul of the PDP, rebuilt public confidence in the PDP and gave to us the rejuvenated platform which we enjoy as a party today.

Most of the party leaders and founding members left the party during its gloomy days, while some of them we see today, only returned to the fold when they saw that stability had been restored in the party.

Till today, Wike has remained instrumental to PDP’s relevance as a valid opposition in the country. He has gone out of his way numerous times to raise his voice against unpopular decisions of the Federal Government, even on issues that concerns other state governments. This action of his earned him the title: “DEFENDER OF DEMOCRACY” among Nigerians.
Indeed, one cannot talk about today’s PDP without mentioning Wike, the one man riot squad, a dogged fighter and a round peg in a round hole.