Prominent Ijaw leader and elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark, has issued a stern call to the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to investigate and potentially expel the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for his alleged role in the political turmoil in Rivers State.
In a letter addressed to the PDP’s Acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umar Illiya Damagum, dated August 20, 2024, Clark urged the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) to take decisive action against Wike, whom he accused of undermining the party’s unity and stability.
Clark, a former Minister of Information during the First Republic, emphasized that the PDP faces the risk of extinction if Wike’s alleged “excesses” are not curtailed.
Clark expressed concern that Wike’s actions are being tolerated, further accusing Damagum of enabling Wike’s behavior by engaging in legal battles against some party leaders. He warned that failing to address these issues could lead to further deterioration of the party’s standing.
“The purpose of this Open Letter, Mr. Acting National Chairman, is to call on you to immediately set up a probe panel to investigate members like Barrister Nyesom Wike, and if found guilty, to impose the appropriate sanctions as prescribed by the party’s constitution,” Clark stated.
He slammed the reconciliation efforts within the party, particularly the formation of a committee headed by former Osun state governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, claiming that the G-5 group of aggrieved governors, which Wike was part of, has already disbanded.
Clark pointed out that while the Governor of Oyo State has fully reintegrated into the PDP, the other members are “floating.”
Clark also accused Damagum of contradicting the party’s constitution by taking the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) to court, despite leading that same organ.
He urged Damagum to severe ties with those seeking to destroy the PDP from within and warned that a reckoning would come for those compromising the party’s integrity.
Finally, Clark called for Wike’s expulsion, arguing that his continued presence in the PDP is detrimental to the party’s survival.
He appealed to other party elders to take a firm stand against Wike, insisting that no individual should be considered above the party.
