What Wike told three APC governors who visited him in Rivers

Newsflash Nigeria StaffJuly 9, 2022

3 minutes read

Details have emerged concerning the meeting of three governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

Newsflash Nigeria reported on Friday that Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State had led Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State to the closed-door meeting.

Recall that Wike and his loyalists are at loggerheads with the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the conduct of the presidential primary, which produced Atiku Abubakar as the candidate and the emergence of Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, as Atiku’s running mate.

The crisis worsened after Atiku rejected the recommendation of an ad hoc committee of the party and picked Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate.

The committee was reported to have recommended Mr Wike for the position, although the party later claimed that Mr Wike was only one of three nominees recommended by the committee.

Following Atiku’s emergence and his choice of Okowa, some members loyal to Wike have called for the immediate resignation of Senator Iyorchia Ayu as the party’s national chairman.

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Wike, who has kept silent since Okowa emerged as the PDP running mate, has been fraternizing with political bigwigs from other political parties.

The APC has now decided to take advantage of the crisis rocking the main opposition party to convince Wike to join the ruling party.

When asked by reporters what their visit was about, Fayemi reportedly said, “it was a Sallah visit.”

However, he said the meeting is not connected to partisan matters.

Mr Fayemi said the visiting governors would only be paying a courtesy call on their colleague, Mr Wike while using the opportunity to discuss issues concerning the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF).

Mr Fayemi, who is the chairperson of the NGF, said the forum is having ongoing discussions on challenges related to national security, education and the economy, saying those would form the focus of the meeting of the visiting governors with Mr Wike.

“We are going to Port Harcourt to meet members of the APC in the state but have decided to use the opportunity to pay a courtesy call on our colleague, the governor of the state,” Mr Fayemi told this newspaper.

A top government official in the state who did not want his name mentioned told The PUNCH that the APC governors told Wike to join them in their quest to win the 2023 presidential election.

The source said, “The plan is to woo him to our side since his party seems to be ignoring him. We asked him to work with us.”

Asked what Wike’s response was, the source said, “Well, you don’t expect him to jump at the offer.

“This is because his party already had a candidate for all the elective positions, especially in his state.

“But we want him to work with our presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. But he gave us no commitment.”

The Rivers State governor has tacitly remained opposed to his party’s candidate, Atiku since the former vice president announced Mr Okowa as his running mate.

Instead, he has hosted the presidential candidates of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and that of the New Nigeria People’s Party, Rabiu Kwankwaso, in Port Harcourt over the period, sparking speculations that he was looking to bale out of the PDP.

Last week, the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, decried the treatment the PDP and Atiku had allegedly meted on Mr Wike and advised the candidate to placate the governor.

Other leaders of the party, such as the chairperson of its Board of Trustees, Walid Jibrin, and former governor of Plateau, Jonah Jang, have also issued the same advice.

But an associate of Atiku, Adamu Waziri, a former minister who said he met Mr Wike in Turkey last week raised an objection to the party sending a delegation to placate the Rivers governor, saying as a party man, he should be available at all times to support the PDP which had given him many opportunities.