Governors Wike, Uzodinma Fight Dirty Over Party Politics

Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo and his counterpart in River states, Nyesom Wike, are at each other jugular over party politics.

BIGPEN understands the two are at ‘war’ over comment credited to Uzodinma who thrown the first salvo at the heat of Adams Oshiomhole’s removal as national chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

Uzodinma reportedly castigated Wike for Oshiomhole’s ordeal, alleging that he (Wike) and PDP were instrumental to the attempted plot to oust the APC chairman.

But Wike, in his response took Uzodinma to the cleaners, calling him a “fraudster” that should hide himself from public glare.

Wike had earlier crudely berated Governor Uzodinma on a national television on Tuesday in a manner many wonder if the office the Rivers State Governor occupies today is the same those who came before him did.

In a follow up tweets, Wike said: “It is unfortunate that Senator Hope Uzodinma will have the temerity to make that false allegation. Hope Uzodinma was an APC agent while he was in PDP,” Wike said pointing out that, “That was why APC used him as an agent to support Ali Modu Sheriff, but they failed.

“It is unfortunate that people of questionable character are in Government. Hope Uzodinma cannot talk about the attempted removal of APC National Chairman and mention the PDP. What is our business in the attempted removal of Oshiomhole?

“APC does not mean well for Nigeria.  It is a party of strange bedfellows merely formed to take over power. If Senator Uzodinma dares to make such false comments again about the PDP, we will tell the world about him. That he fraudulently took the mandate of PDP does not mean that PDP is weak. Hope Uzodinma lacks the capacity to discuss the PDP.

“We must protect the Judiciary to do its work.  But the Judiciary should protect itself.  APC has destroyed the Judiciary. The Judiciary should be very careful. The Judiciary should be alert. It should not allow itself to be used. It should not allow itself to be destroyed.

“APC should not be allowed to destroy Judiciary. Judiciary was there before APC. It was there before any political party. I cannot see the Judiciary being destroyed and keep quiet.

“I am not interested in what happens in APC. But I am concerned with the Judiciary and its survival. The Chief Justice of Nigeria should caution judges.

“With what the APC is doing today, we may not have the Judiciary and everyone will pay the price. The party is trying to destroy the hope of the common man,” Wike said in series of tweets  through his official Twitter handle @GovWike.

Responding to the seething attack, Governor Uzodinma, who insisted that he does not have any regret in his comment that Wike was instrumental to Oshiomhole’s ordeal, warned the Rivers Governor to think before he talks on political matters.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary/Media Adviser, Mr. Oguwike Nwachuku, Governor Uzodinma, said that Governor Wike arrogates to himself the strength he does not have going by the way he talks.

“There is no better way to pin Governor Wike down to the recent crisis rocking the APC and its National Chairman than the careless way he spoke against Governor Uzodinma who obviously was echoeing what many already know about Wike and his type of politics.

‘Is it not unfortunate that Governor Wike pretends to have a court injunction on how to speak carelessly, the reason many erstwhile members of the PDP, including founding members, had abandoned the Party which is about to collapse on Wike’s head.

“Rather than engage in some kind of introspection on what went wrong with his Party, Governor Wike thinks that trivializing serious issues of national and international importance will bring accolades his way.

“If Governor Wike did not have a hand in the Oshiomhole saga, why insult innocent Governor Uzodinma whose only crime was that he brought Wike’s mischief tendencies to the fore for everyone to see?

“Governor Wike pretends to love the Judiciary more than anyone else, but the truth is that every opportunity he gets to stand the judiciary on the head he does so with relish.

“Mr. Governor, your interest in the attempted removal of the National Chairman of the APC is legion and you know it. Unlike most of you, Governor Uzodinma does not talk much and when he does it is not frivolous. Stop pretending because that has been the lot of characters like you that did the PDP in and ready to bury it finally.

“Governor Uzodinma has an idea why you are badly hurt. You have the right to be hurt anyway. However, because you are Mr. Know All you still cannot imagine how Governor Uzodinma has reduced yourself acclaimed political “wisdom” to ignorance. 

“Governor Uzodinma believes in the rule of law like the APC and has not hidden his respect for the judiciary as a critical organ for national development and survival of Nigeria’s democracy.

“If Governor Uzodinma were to be you, he would not have followed through all the processes he painstakingly adopted to emerge the governor of Imo State on Januray 14, 2020, and reaffirmed Governor on March 3, 2020 after you worked so hard to truncate the judgment of the Supreme Court.

“But unfortunately, you have continued to denigrate the Supreme Court that adjudicated over Governor Uzodinma’s case by carelessly and arrogantly describing the ruling of the Apex Court as synonymous with fraud. I do hope you know the implications?

“By saying that Governor Uzodinma’s APC is not a political party, and that it is an assemblage of strange bed fellows you have not said anything new from what you have been saying since 2015 the PDP lost power, but one would have thought that the narrative would have changed in 2019, yet, your party lost. Is it not time you changed strategy on what you have been saying for nearly five years now?

“Make no mistake about it, there is nothing in your kitty you are threatening to tell the world about Governor Uzodinma for stating the obvious about your party that can be worse than what they know about you and your Party”.