Rivers PDP chiefs trade words over zoning

The controversy surrounding the ‘no-zoning verdict’ of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State took a fresh turn on Monday when a chief of the party, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, and the State Chairman, Mr. Felix Obuah, engaged each other in a war of words.
While Sara-Igbe accused the state PDP chairman of running the party with impunity and recklessness, Obuah maintained that the PDP stalwart had no locus to criticise the position of the party on zoning.
Sara-Igbe, who claims he is one of the founders of the PDP, added that the party in the state had always rotated elective positions, including that of the governor.
Speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt on Monday, Sara-Igbe, who was the Special Adviser on Security Matters to former governor of the state, Dr. Peter Odili, explained that the state chairman of the party lacked the knowledge of how the PDP began in the state.
He said, “Obuah is a small boy in PDP; he does not know how PDP came about. He was just brought in to contest council election and his experience ends there. Until the conspiracy that brought him into power is destroyed, he does not know how Rivers State is governed.
“Who is Obuah to say there was no zoning arrangement in Rivers PDP? Nigeria is owned by very few people, whether you like it or not.  You can say anything, but there are very few persons that know how Nigeria is governed.
“When Nigeria was at the peak of collapse in 2012, these people came up and brought in the Doctrine of Necessity and approached the House of Assembly for the good of all.
“In Rivers State also, when the chips are down, we have people that will speak. When they speak, Rivers people will listen because they know what they are talking about. Obuah does not know that PDP’s constitution is sacrosanct. It (constitution) is not for one person, it is for the entire state, it is above everybody.”
Obuah, however, challenged Sara-Igbe to show proof of his membership of the PDP and tell the world when he (Sara-Igbe) last visited the state party secretariat or his ward secretariat.
The state PDP chairman, who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Jerry Needam, explained that the PDP chief was only looking for cheap popularity.
He said, “Sara-Igbe is frustrated. He is not a member of PDP and he lacks the locus to talk about the Rivers PDP chairman, Bro Felix Obuah. Who is Sara-Igbe? Has he won a unit election in his village?