Ugochinyere, the representative for Ideato North South Federal Constituency and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State, proclaimed that no official PDP congress took place in Rivers State over the past weekend.
He asserted that rather than a legitimate party congress, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike convened a personal gathering with acquaintances.
While state congresses for the primary opposition party transpired across the nation, various states including Rivers, Benue, Katsina, and Kogi reported complications.
In Rivers State, the congress proceeded in defiance of a court injunction prohibiting it.
This scenario has led to a rift between the National Working Committee (NWC), which sanctioned the congress, and the PDP Governors Forum, which has insisted that Governor Siminalayi Fubara maintain his leadership role in the state.
Moreover, Nyesom Wike and his faction are claiming control over the party’s organizational structure after the state governor and his supporters opted to boycott the congress.
The PDP has noted that the proceedings are subject to review by the party’s governing bodies.
Ugochinyere, who serves as the spokesperson for the G-60 federal lawmakers in the House of Representatives, derided the event orchestrated by Wike’s faction as both absurd and ostentatious.
He contended that there was no authentic PDP Congress in Rivers State, alleging that Nyesom Wike merely hosted a social event and misrepresented it as a state congress to enhance his standing with his waning base.
Citing the court order that suspended PDP congresses in the state, he remarked that Wike’s gathering was devoid of merit.
“Trust me, a genuine PDP state congress has not occurred in Rivers State. Wike, in an effort to win over his dwindling supporters, held a social function and dubbed it a state congress,” Ugochinyere stated.
The court order issued in July explicitly prohibited any PDP congresses in Rivers State.
Despite this, certain PDP members linked to the APC attempted to rebrand family gatherings as a PDP congress, which the lawmaker dismissed as fruitless.
He reiterated that the purported congress would be rendered null due to the prevailing court order against any such gatherings in Rivers State.
