If you ask who leads a presidential campaign in a state, the governor is usually the one in charge. In Rivers, the man is the former governor.
On Tuesday, 13th October, during his regular media session in Abuja, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike made clear the reason why he, and not Governor Siminalayi Fubara, is in charge of President Tinubu’s re-election campaign in Rivers.
He described the situation as unusual and admitted that Rivers is the only state in which the incumbent APC governor is not taking part. According to him, the role requires “somebody who has a buy-in”. He stated that Fubara is not being sidelined and that the governor will take part at all levels, adding that Fubara’s main concern is ensuring that his political family remains intact.
Accept it exactly as stated. Political campaigns are based on certain structures, and Wike has been spending the past few months visiting local governments in order to win over politicians who are dissatisfied. Genuine buy-in exists.
It is likewise the same view that he expressed in December. At that time, Wike stated that merely defecting to the APC did not make Fubara its leader since leadership is determined by the structure rather than by office. He argued that 22 council chairmen and more than half of the Assembly had switched to the APC before the governor had done so. Nevertheless, in January APC national chairman Nentawe Yilwatda referred to Fubara as the party’s leader in Rivers. The same question had two answers, and it was October 13 that showed which of the two was correct.
That is the issue. In a democratic system, holding an office comes with accountability. The governor is in charge of the budget, the schools, the hospitals, and security and has to account for these matters to the voters. A coordinator who does not hold a state office has no such responsibility. He can organise, make promises and take the credit, while the governor ends up bearing the blame. When a structural position ranks higher than an office, voters fail to know who to make responsible.
A single point can be claimed on the grounds of fairness. Fubara had withdrawn from the APC contest for governor, and Kingsley Chinda thus became the candidate, which is part of the reason why the governor is not in the lead. Yet it fails to account for the fact that the person designated by the party chairman as the party’s state leader is not.
The APC ought to make clear who leads the party in Rivers and on what terms Wike was appointed coordinator. Wike should also state whether ‘buy-in’ includes taking responsibility for the state’s results.
A campaign requires support, but a state needs someone to be held responsible for it.
