The national leadership of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has moved to delineate its role in the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State, stating that a high-profile dispute involving the state governor falls outside its direct purview.
Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, APC National Chairman, clarified the party’s position in an interview with Channels TV’s Politics Today programme. He specified that the conflict between Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, an APC member, and his predecessor Nyesom Wike of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is not a matter for the national APC secretariat.
“When it comes to the issue between Wike and Fubara, it’s not within my purview as the national chairman of APC. Wike is in PDP, Fubara is in APC,” Prof. Yilwatda stated.
However, he confirmed that the APC is actively engaged in a separate, internally-focused matter within Rivers State: the move by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, which is controlled by the APC, to initiate impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara. The Chairman framed this as a purely intra-party issue requiring internal resolution.
“The issue of impeachment is not about Wike now; it concerns APC House of Assembly members. That is something I can discuss. It’s an internal matter, and we have mechanisms within APC to resolve such issues,” he explained.
Prof. Yilwatda stressed that such internal party disputes should be handled discreetly through established party channels, cautioning against public airing of grievances. He underscored the need for maturity in resolving the assembly’s standoff with the governor.
“We don’t put these discussions in the public. Issues can be resolved through in-house activities that require maturity to address. Wike is not a problem in APC,” he added, reiterating that the former governor’s involvement is peripheral to the party’s internal mechanics.
This public clarification seeks to contain the political fallout from Rivers State, a critical oil-producing region. By separating the inter-party feud from the intra-party impeachment crisis, the APC national body aims to assert control over its own members’ actions in the state assembly while distancing itself from the broader, partisan rivalry with Wike. The situation highlights the delicate balance between national party authority and state-level political power struggles in Nigeria’s federal system. The APC’s next steps will likely involve leveraging its internal committees to mediate the rift between the state executive and the legislature, a process that will be closely watched for its impact on governance and the party’s cohesion in the Niger Delta region.
