KEY POINTS

• A PDP faction loyal to Nyesom Wike has given APC National Secretary Ajibola Basiru 48 hours to apologise over comments on Rivers politics.
• The group described Basiru’s remarks as a personal attack and warned he could be declared persona non grata in Rivers State.
• The dispute highlights deepening political fault lines following the 2023 elections in Rivers State.

A group of PDP members who support Nyesom Wike has given Ajibola Basiru, the APC National Secretary, 48 hours to apologise for what he said about politics in Rivers.

The group said Basiru’s comments were a personal attack and warned that he could be banned from Rivers State.

The argument shows how the political divide in Rivers State has gotten worse since the 2023 elections.

Basiru, Wike trade barbs

The most recent fight happened after Basiru publicly told Wike to step down as minister because he thought the former governor of Rivers was too focused on state politics.

Even though he wasn’t a member of the ruling party, Basiru also said that Wike was making things worse in the APC.

The argument got worse when Basiru said that an APC official had been rude to Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who has been Wike’s political rival for a long time.

Wike told Basiru to stay out of Rivers politics, but Basiru quickly shot back.

Basiru said that Wike, who was not a member of the APC, had no right to get involved in the party’s internal affairs. He said that anyone who worked for an APC-led federal government should not, in his words, “sow confusion” within the party.