VANGUARD
PORT HARCOURT — Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Board of Trustees, BoT, Senator Adolphus Wabara, yesterday lamented the woeful outing of his party in Saturday’s local government election in Rivers State, says the party has lost the state.
Wabara spoke yesterday, as Governor Siminialayi Fubara swore in the 23 LG chairmen who emerged in the October 5, polls, insisting he was still in PDP.
The governor, however, raised the alarm that there are plans by some persons to unleash violence on LG headquarters today, as the new chairmen resume office.
Recall that Action People’s Party, APP, won 22 LG seats, while Action Alliance, AA, was declared winner of Etche LG seat in a result announced by chairman of Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, Justice Adolphus Enebeli, retd.
APP also swept almost all the councillorship seats across the 23 councils, winning 314 of 319 wards, while All Progressive Congress, APC; Labour Party, LP; Social Democratic Party, SDP; and Young Peoples Party, YPP, got one each.
The RSIEC boss, who said 18 political parties participated in the elections held in 6,866 polling units of the state, commended the parties and Rivers people for their commitment to the poll.
These came as former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, lauded Governor Fubara and the entire people of the state for rejecting what he described as political intimidation and judicial chicanery by going ahead to elect leaders at the local government level.
Also, former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, retd, congratulated the governor on the successful conduct of the council elections in Rivers State, as APP in Rivers State equally praised him for his leadership, generosity and fairness before, during, and after the elections.
Senator Wabara, who spoke with Vanguard, attributed the party’s failure to self-destruction, saying the party is responsible for its fate as it ignored wise counsel over the political crisis in the state.He expressed sadness that the ruling PDP which had held sway in the state since 1999, lost the grassroots to a little-known party due to an avoidable feud.
“This is the first of its kind in the history of LG elections in recent times where the ruling party, and party of the governor lost the grassroots structure.
“Politics is local but in this case, the PDP has shot itself in the leg. If we look deeper, it means that technically and literally, PDP has lost Rivers State.
“I doubt if Rivers will be under the control of the PDP in 2027. We have really shot ourselves in the leg.”He expressed concern over the fate of PDP in Rivers, regretting that the wise counsel by elders of the party concerning the crisis in the state chapter of the party, was ignored.
“We saw this coming and we warned the players but instead of heeding our advice, some of us were called names and castigated. Today, we all have seen the result.
“It’s a big lesson for all that we must respect internal democracy and party supremacy. Impunity has no place in democracy. We must learn to resolve our differences internally.”
The former Senate President said the lesson of the Rivers’ council polls will help PDP take necessary precautions in 2027.
He said: “I think we have learnt the hard way but it’s not too late yet. We can’t afford to lose Rivers State completely.
“I, therefore, call on all the players in the Rivers political crisis to sheathe their swords. Let’s go back and resolve as a family, so we can come out stronger in 2027.”