The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has cautioned Rivers State Governor, Siminilayi Fubara, against what he described as a reckless declaration of himself as “001” in the state following his defection to the All Progressives Congress.
Wike made the remarks on Monday during a media interaction at his office in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, where he said the governor’s claim amounted to making a mockery of himself by portraying himself as the leader of the APC in the state.
Governor Fubara had, during his registration with the APC shortly after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party, announced himself as the number one member of the party in Rivers State, citing the 001 number assigned to him on his APC membership card.
Speaking during the end-of-year media parley, Wike said:
“He He [Fubara] decamped to APC with who? What is 001? Let me tell you, there’s nothing like 001 in the state.You register in your ward and local government, so if you are 001, it’s in your ward.
“There’s nothing like 001. There’s nothing like I have registered in the state as 001. Everybody registered in their own ward. You could be the first person to register, but that’s not your position.
“I don’t know about that because if he says so, who is the leader of APC in Lagos State? So there are some exceptions to the rule, so let’s not go into other things.
“See, leadership is not because I’m a governor. Leadership is not because I’m a minister. You must have something that makes you a leader.”
Wike maintained that leadership within a political party is not conferred by titles or public office but by influence, structure, and acceptance among party members.
