Chief Edwin Clark, a well-known figure in the South South region and a former Federal Commissioner for Information, has urged the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Acting National Chairman, Amb.
Umar Ililya Damagum, to step down immediately to avoid the party's possible demise. In a letter to Damagum, Clark expressed the seriousness of the problem and the necessity of taking swift and unwavering action, or, failing that, that Damagum should resign for the party's benefit.
Clark reportedly accused Governor Nyesom Wike of helping President Bola Ahmed Tinubu win over Rivers State in his letter that criticised the behaviour of prominent party members (Vanguard reports that this was the case). Wike was appointed minister of the Federal Capital Territory, according to Clark, because he was seen as supporting Tinubu's political ambitions in the state.
He voiced his displeasure with what he sees as Wike's lack of concern for party unity, pointing to specific occasions where other party leaders were excluded from decision-making. By drawing attention to the effects of what are ostensibly Wike's unilateral moves, Clark stresses how the majority of the G5 party faction have been marginalised.
He made the observation that all members of the G5, save for Oyo State's governor Seyi Makinde, have seen a decrease in their power within the party hierarchy. Clark said that other G5 members have been left out of important decision-making processes due to Wike's purportedly self-serving attitude to party matters.
He implied that Wike's actions have weakened party cohesion and demoted other powerful party members, making them less important in the party's hierarchy. Pay attention: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Wike to the position of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory in recognition of his significant contributions to President Tinubu's achievement in Rivers State.
Almost every member of the G5 was not escorted by Nyesom Wike today. Everyone else has faded into obscurity except for Oyo State's governor, Seyi Makinde. Apart from Oyo State Governor Makinde, the other members of the G5 have faded into memory, a reflection of his typical self-centered behaviour.