Emmanuel Masha PORT HARCOURT 
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who insists that the National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Dr. Iyorchia Ayu must resign for the party to forge ahead, has begun moves to neutralize whatever impact the appointment of erstwhile chairman, Prince Uche Secondus into the party’s Presidential campaign council would have in the state.
Although, the governor has kept his next line action to himself, a source in the party, however, said that Wike would not allow the appointment of Secondus into the PDP PCC to have any impact in the state while waiting for ‘Party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to act on Ayu.’
Secondus,who has been appointed as Technical Adviser to Atiku. opposed to Wike’s call for Ayu’s resignation, leads a team of PDP elders in Rivers State that have openly identified with the PDP presidential candidate.
Secondus, alongside Sen. Lee Maeba, former Transportation Minister, Dr. Abiye Sekibo; former governor, Sir Celestine Omehia; former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Sir Austin Opara are former Wike allies, who are against his stance on Ayu.
They are also against Wike’s backing of Sir Siminalayi Fubara, the Rivers State governorship candidate of the PDP, whom they claim the governor imposed on them because they are related, arguing that Fubara’s governorship would amount to an extension of Wike’s administration.
But Wike, who insists that Ayu must go, has begun moves to counter Atiku’s appointment of Secondus and the alliance with other party elders in the state have with the presidential candidate.
A source said that the governor has mapped out plans to prevent any kind of campaigns and gatherings aimed at drumming up support for Atiku, explaining that such persons risk being arrested “for plotting to cause a breakdown of law and order in the state.”
The source added that Wike will leave no stone unturned to “prevent a situation that could cause mayhem as the supporters of some of the elders working for Atiku and the ones supporting Wike don’t engage in avoidable clashes.
The source added that drumming support for Atiku in Rivers through campaigns before the PDP resolves “the current crisis in Wike’s favour, were also aware that they will be going into a hostile terrain for such exercise.”
Recall that Wike recently warned cultists against using political gatherings to gather in order to cause a breakdown of law and order in the state.
At a flag-off of construction of internal roads in Omagwa, Ikwerre Local Government Area, the governor had said: “If I hear anybody holding meetings, whether in the restaurant, whether in the hotel and I find out that cultists are there, we will invade that place. I will not give anybody breathing space to organise themselves to attack.
“If anybody fights our system, we will fight the person back. The moment you claim to be working with us and tomorrow, you shift to our enemy, we will take every might we have, we will even leave our enemies and finish you first.”