Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, says a former Governor of Niger State, Dr Babangida Aliyu, is a mole and liability to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Wike said on Monday that Aliyu was a serial blackmailer, who betrayed his party by working against PDP’s interest in 2015.
Aliyu had granted an interview where he accused Wike of trying to play a godfather and a dictator in the PDP.
Wike, however, described Aliyu as a chronic liar and serial betrayer.
He also recalled that Aliyu once admitted that he and other former northern governors worked against the interest of the party in the 2015 presidential election.
According to Wike, some of the former northern governors such as Jonah Jang of Plateau State and Sule Lamido of Jigawa State quickly absolved themselves from the betrayal of Aliyu.
He said: “There is no political dictator in Rivers State as far as PDP is concerned. That is why if there is any state the PDP is sure of winning any day any time in this country, I am sure you all know that it is Rivers State.
“That is not the case of Niger state. You saw the reply of the former President to him. He is a rabble-rouser and a perpetual blackmailer. He is a chronic liar and a serial betrayer.”
He recalled that Aliyu was among the party leaders, who opposed the emergence of Uche Secondus in 2017 as the Chairman of the PDP, adding that the former governor has now become a spokesman for the Secondus-led National Working Committee because of his jobless condition.
Wike said while he had led the PDP to victory in many elections in Rivers despite federal might, Aliyu had serially lost all the elections PDP contested in his Niger State.
He said Aliyu lacked the capacity to lead the PDP to victory in Niger because of his alleged woeful performance in the state and challenged him to point at his legacy projects throughout the period he governed Niger.
Wike said Aliyu’s dictatorial tendencies contributed to the waning fortunes of the PDP in Niger lamenting that the former governor’s style had made it impossible for the PDP to hold party congresses in his state.
The Rivers Governor said Aliyu, despite his academic background, misquoted his statement during the buildup to the election in Edo State when he said that some NWC members were tax collectors.
Wike said: “I said some NWC members are tax collectors, I didn’t say NWC members are tax collectors. I stand by my words.”
The governor mocked Aliyu for suggesting that the PDP should have punished him for the “tax collector” statement saying he was available for either suspension or expulsion from the party.
The governor also debunked Aliyu’s statement that he was fighting Secondus from Rivers adding that he had no problem with the National party chairman.
He, however, said that he would not stop speaking out whenever things were not going well in the party.
Wike said part of Aliyu’s anger was that he refused to invite him to Rivers to inaugurate projects adding that the former governor was not qualified for such invitations because he had no concrete projects in Niger
