By Our Reporter
A lawyer and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, has defended Vice President Kashim Shettima over his recent remarks on party leadership in Rivers State, following a warning issued by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Wike, speaking recently in his community, told PDP and community stakeholders that he remained the leader of both the PDP and APC in Rivers State, cautioning APC leaders to steer clear of the state. He further declared that he would determine who emerges as governor in the next general elections.
However, the Vice President, while responding to questions during a visit to Enugu State, pushed back against Wike’s assertions. Shettima stressed that the leader of the APC in Rivers State is Governor Siminalayi Fubara, not the FCT minister.
Shettima explained that although he is the Vice President of Nigeria and the second-in-command within the APC, party leadership at the state level rests with the sitting governor. He cited his home state of Borno, where Governor Babagana Zulum serves as the party leader.
Reacting in a statement, Obono-Obla said there was no real dispute over party leadership, noting that by long-standing party practice, the governor of a state is regarded as the party leader.
“Be that as it may, if governors assume such a toga by convention within the party, then the Vice President is not entirely wrong to make such an assertion,” Obono-Obla said. He, however, added that directing the remark at Wike may not be appropriate, as Wike is not a member of the APC in Rivers State.
The former presidential aide pointed out that the APC constitution does not expressly designate elected governors as party leaders in their states, but that the role has evolved through convention and implied practice.
He observed that the arrangement has remained controversial, with critics arguing that some governors exploit the absence of clearly defined roles to concentrate power, often encouraging cronyism and godfatherism.
Obono-Obla therefore called for clearer provisions in the APC constitution to properly define party leadership roles at the state level, saying this would help curb abuse of convention and strengthen internal democracy within the party.
