Sanction Wike for hobnobbing with Tinubu, NEC member tells PDP

A member of the Peoples Democratic Party National Executive Committee, Timothy Osadolor, has called on the leadership of the party to sanction former governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, over his association with the All Progressives Congress and the Bola Tinubu-led presidency.

He said the party would survive if Wike was expelled, noting that no individual could be bigger than the party.

Osadolor, who is the Deputy National Youth Leader of the PDP, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH recently, noted that the despite efforts made by the various organs of the party to appease Wike and make him return to the PDP fold; the former governor had continued to show disrespect to the party at every given opportunity.

According to him, the soft disposition of the PDP’s Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, towards Wike, largely accounts for the reason he was still laying claim to PDP membership. He said if he were to swap roles with Damagum, Wike would be gone the next minute.

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There have been insinuations that Wike might be given ministerial appointment by the President, given his multiple visits to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, after inauguration. He had invited Tinubu as the President-elect to inaugurate certain projects in the state, which analysts and his critics said was a ploy to impress the President.

Osadolor stated, “Time has not only come, it is overdue for Wike to be shown the way out of the party. Every manager has his own style but if I was the chairman, I don’t see any reason Wike should still be in this party. I don’t understand why he is still laying claim to the membership of the PDP after his open flirtation and connivance with the ruling party. His shameless association with the Presidency and the APC has come full cycle.

“It is not a matter of if or when, it is a matter of integrity. Wike cannot be dining and wining with the APC and still claim to be a member of the PDP. He should know this!”

On speculations that the former Governor is likely to be appointed minister by the President, Osadolor noted that whatever Wike gets from the APC would be a reward for betraying the party that brought him to national limelight.

He added, “APC is dealing with Wike as an individual. If the ruling party wants to reward him for his betrayal of the PDP, it is up to them. PDP will survive without Wike and the poison chalice he is being given by the APC to eat. We all know that anything given to Wike now will be a reward for the saboteur role he played against his own party. Truth is, the whole world knows that until his association with this party (PDP), not much was known about him.”

He further called on the leadership of the party not to compromise discipline while trying to revamp the PDP in preparation for future tasks.

He stated, “A former president produced by this party left at a time; a vice president defected. Many governors and senators, to mention a few, left at one time or the other but the PDP remains. Nobody, no matter how highly placed, is bigger than the party on which platform he or she was elected. This is what Wike should know. His exit, suspension or whatever will not affect the PDP in any way. Our leaders should know this and realise that as members of the party, we must protect it at all times.”