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A former Deputy National Chairman (South) of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, Chief Asukewe Ikoawaji, has characterised the current administration as “kindergarten” and criticised the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress for its silence during attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
He also warned that the ruling party may lose the 2027 general elections if it fails to fulfil its promises to Nigerians.
Ikoawaji, an elder statesman and member of the Rivers State Elders Council, said the APC was repeating the mistakes of the Peoples Democratic Party, which led to its defeat in the 2015 general elections.
He also criticised the APC national leadership for maintaining what he described as a “studied silence” over moves by lawmakers in the Rivers State House of Assembly to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara, whom he described as an APC governor.
The former party chieftain spoke exclusively with PUNCH Online on Thursday night via telephone, while reacting to the latest impeachment threat against Governor Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu.
Ikoawaji said the myriad of challenges confronting the country, including the political crisis in Rivers State, persisted due to what he termed a failure of leadership.
According to him, the wave of defections by governors and top politicians into the APC was a sign of weakness, noting that the PDP adopted a similar strategy ahead of its loss of power in 2015.
He said, “The APC has failed Nigerians in the same way the PDP failed before the 2015 elections. That was when the PDP started wooing governors from other parties because it had lost the confidence of the people. That is exactly what is happening now.”
While faulting the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for his role in the Rivers political crisis, Ikoawaju also criticised Fubara for what he described as signs of weakness, insisting that Rivers people would not vote for a “kindergarten governor” in the next election.
“All these things are part of the FCT minister’s game. But the truth is simple: if you are a governor, you should behave like one. You are answerable to the people who elected you,” he said.
He added, “The governor is in the APC. The majority of local government chairmen are in the APC. The majority of members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are also in the APC. At the national level, the APC controls the Federal Government.
“So what is the APC national secretariat doing? How can a ruling party allow its members to begin impeachment proceedings against their own governor and remain silent? This is not something to laugh about.”
Ikoawaju, who said he rose to the highest level of party politics, recalled his time as Deputy National Chairman of the ANPP, which he said was the leading opposition party during the PDP era.
“It is unfortunate that many people at the apex of the party do not even understand the party constitution. The Bible says a house divided against itself cannot stand,” he stated.
He also criticised Wike’s visits to local government areas in Rivers State alongside APC chieftains, describing them as early campaigns carried out without the party’s official insignia.
“That tells you that these are kindergarten politicians. The FCT minister is not a member of the APC. He was expelled by his party, the PDP. Yet he goes on grassroots campaigns, and APC leaders follow him.
“The Deputy National Chairman of APC, South-South, the state chairman, senators and other APC leaders are there, but there is no APC flag. Instead, you see blue-white-blue, which does not represent APC. And the party leadership is watching.”
He warned that the APC was losing its grip on power, adding that the ruling party had failed to deliver on its campaign promises.
“I am a founding member of the APC and part of the ANPP, which was the leading party in the formation of the APC. We had more governors than the ACN at the time,” he said.
Ikoawaji further criticised the Federal Government’s emphasis on long-term economic gains, arguing that Nigerians were suffering in the short term.
“A hungry man cannot wait three years for the economy to stabilise. Where is the electricity that Nigerians were promised? Even the Presidential Villa does not rely on public power supply”, he said.
He added, “If the number one citizen is not using public electricity, how do you expect the ordinary man to enjoy it? These failures are the reasons for the problems we are facing today.”
The elder statesman concluded that Rivers people would resist what he described as poor leadership choices in 2027.
“Mark my words: in 2027, Rivers State will not support a kindergarten governor,” he said.
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