From Ahmad Muhammad, Bauchi
The Bauchi State Governor and Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum, Senato Bala Muhammed Abdulkadir, has explained that nobody can stoke fire in Bauchi because there is enough water to quench any fire.
Governor Bala was reacting to the threat by Wike to put fire in the state of any PDP governor that interferes in the affairs of Rivers State.
The Bauchí Governor replied Wike when he received a delegation of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the PDP at Government House, Bauchi, on Tuesday.
Recall that Wike, while reacting to the forum’s call for a review of the party’s congress outcome to restore Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s leadership role in the state, had threatened to cause political crisis in the state of any governor that interferes with the party’s structure in Rivers.
“Let me assure all of you, not while we live will anybody take away the structure of the PDP from us,” Wike warned.
“But let me tell people, I hear some governors who say they will take over the structure and give it back to somebody.”
“I pity those governors because I will put fire in the states. When God has given you peace, you say you don’t want peace – anything you see, you take.”.
Reacting to Wike’s fire threat, Muhammed stated: “We are together and nobody can put fire in Bauchi because we have volumes of water.
“Even my friend that is saying that is just saying it because he is annoyed because I have said something that annoyed him but it is not personal.
“My friend is my friend, my job is my job, and leadership is leadership.”
Governor Muhamed expressed delight with the visit of leadership of the NWC of the PDP to Bauchi to acknowledge “our modest contribution to the stability, to the prosperity of our party and Nigeria that has made us proud and happy.”
He described the visit as unsolicited and a demonstration that there is hope in Nigeria.
“We have people of conscience and we are connected by the values that established the PDP by the founding fathers,” he said.
“Yes none of the parties is insulated from crisis but crises are there that is why leadership is there.
“You have to take the bull by the horn to discuss and look at the constitution of our party, not only of PDP but all the parties.
“We must do things by the rule of law, we must respect people, we must put our interest aside, and we must respect our diversity.
“We must bring a close rank, especially for a party like PDP that has a history. We have the pedigree.
“Whatever we have quarreled about, it is not personal, nobody should misunderstand us, this is not a splinter group, this is a delegation from the NWC and we are going to discuss some issues that we need to discuss.
“Certainly this is really auspicious your being here and we are happy that you have come to the home of PDP.”
Earlier, the leader of the NWC delegation and National Legal Adviser of the PDP, Ajibade Adeyemi, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, explained that the visit was to identify with the PDP Governors Forum Chairman
“We salute your courage as the chairman of the PDP governors’ forum,”Adeyemi said.
“A lot of things have been going on in our party and we cannot pretend to say all is well. We are grateful that you and the other colleagues of our governors have taken the bull by the horns. “So we made it imperative for us to identify with you and tell you that whatever step taken by the forum, as your representative at the NWC, we will always be glad to implement.”
