In the National Assembly, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his colleagues received a stern warning from the PDP National Progressive Youth Initiative, a well-known youth group inside the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The organization specifically denounced Rep. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, the lawmaker for Imo State’s Ideato North South Federal Constituency, in a statement issued Friday night for his persistent verbal abuse of Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister. Opposition lawmaker Ugochinyere has continuously supported Fubara’s rulings in Rivers State while regularly campaigning against Wike.
This threat from the PDP youth organization comes after Ugochinyere’s recent public pronouncements, in which he accused Wike of seeking to obstruct Governor Fubara’s access to state finances through court orders purportedly instigated by the APC and pro-Wike forces.
Ugochinyere alleged, “The APC and pro-Wike group are, as we speak, filing a suit in the Federal High Court to seize the allocation meant for the entire Rivers State.” This is the Wike group’s second attempt to create constitutional turmoil. They already have an ongoing case to seize all Rivers allocation and local government funding, and they are now using the Wike-APC group to bring another suit to halt the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee.”
In response, the PDP Youth Initiative, led by President Comrade Billy Matthew Nwachukwu and Secretary General David Terna Gondo, criticized both Governor Fubara and Representative Ugochinyere, accusing them of avoiding accountability and openness.
“They are both fearful of public accountability and are attempting to deflect attention from their failure to conduct proper local government elections,” according to the statement. “The PDP will no longer tolerate any further attacks on the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who is tirelessly working to ensure the success of the government and the people of Nigeria through his infrastructure initiatives in the FCT.”
The group asked why Fubara and Ugochinyere appear to be avoiding accountability by insulting the judiciary and the FCT Minister.
We acknowledge that certain so-called activists use blackmail as a means of making a living, and regrettably, they have infiltrated the National Assembly. These people boast of having spent over N700 million for a committee post, while having no real sources of money,” they continued.
The youth organization urged the Ideato Federal Constituency’s residents to press their representative to concentrate on his legislative duties. “He should admit his mistakes and let someone else take his place if he doesn’t understand the lawmaking process,” they said.
Additionally, if Speaker Tajudeen Abbas does not control Ugochinyere and stop additional assaults or disrespectful conduct against the FCT Minister, the PDP youth group vowed to hold a demonstration at the National Assembly.
