A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, has aligned with the party’s National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, insisting that non-members have no right to interfere in its internal affairs.
Nwauju stated this on Tuesday while speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, saying recent developments have justified the stance of his associates within the party.
According to him, Basiru, who he described as being in a position to speak authoritatively on party policy, had made it clear that individuals who are not members of the APC should not dictate how the party is run in Rivers State.
“Today, I am glad that our stance has been justified with the fact that our National Secretary has made a very clear statement that persons who are non-members of our political party have no business dictating to us how the party should be run in Rivers State,” Nwauju said.
He said that his faction fully aligns with the position expressed by the National Secretary, describing it as the correct stance for the party at both state and national levels.
Nwauju argued that the APC now has a sitting governor in Rivers State and that, by the party’s constitution and long-standing convention, the governor automatically becomes the leader of the party in the state.
According to him, it would be inappropriate for a non-APC member to attempt to influence how the party relates to its governor or manages its internal affairs. He said such actions contradict established party practice and undermine internal cohesion
“APC now has a sitting governor in our midst and by the force of our own very convention; by our own practice as APC in Nigeria, the governor automatically becomes the leader of party in Rivers State.
“So, there is no way that a non-APC member can be dictating to the APC how to treat or how to associate with our governor who is a member of the political party.
Nwauju is confident that the APC National Working Committee would also adopt the position articulated by Basiru as its position about Rivers State.
His comments followed Basiru’s remark that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, lacks the right to interfere in the affairs of the APC in Rivers State.
The APC scribe said the former Rivers State governor is not a member of the APC and therefore does not have the “locus” to dabble into the internal matters of the ruling party.
Wike has, however, warned him to stay out of Rivers State politics.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara last year defected to the APC from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), weeks after his suspension as Rivers State governor elapsed.
Wike, from the PDP, is working in President Bola Tinubu’s government. His relationship with Fubara, whom he backed to become governor, has become shaky in recent months.
