Wike Moves Closer To Joining APC As Loyalists Storm Party Secretariat

Wike Moves Closer To Joining APC As Loyalists Storm Party Secretariat

There are signs that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, may be considering a move to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). This speculation gains weight following a meeting between his loyalists within the APC and the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) led by Dr. Abdulahi Ganduje.

Reports have recently circulated in the media about Wike’s potential switch to the APC. However, this news was met with resistance from the faction of the party aligned with former Governor of Rivers State and ex-Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi.

In a recent development, Wike’s name was included in the campaign council for the Bayelsa state governorship election scheduled for November 11, further fueling speculation about his planned defection. However, the party later retracted this inclusion.

The meeting between the APC leadership in Rivers State and the NWC took place at the national secretariat in Abuja. Tony Okocha, a former Chief of Staff to Amaechi, led the delegation.

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He conveyed that if they sought consideration for appointments, the party should liaise with Wike, whom he described as the “political force” in the state.

Okocha expressed disappointment over a faction of the party in Rivers State, led by Tonye Cole and Dakuku Peterside, who recently visited the NWC to lobby for political appointments despite working against the party. He alleged that before the election, Amaechi called a meeting where he revealed that he had struck a deal with the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and instructed them to vote for the PDP rather than the party’s candidate, Bola Tinubu.

Okocha said: “In Rivers State, the leader of the slant which Cole and Dakuku, et al, belonged, had helmed up alliances with the PDP Presidential Candidate, HE, Atiku Abubakar. Atiku and not Tinubu should be voted for in the presidential election.

“This wicked resolve against the APC in Rivers was openly announced in a meeting at the instance of the leader at his private residence in Port Harcourt, thickly attended by Mr. Cole, Dakuku, Chukwudi Dimkpa, et al, members of the innermost caucus.

“It was handed down that Tinubu must fail in Rivers State. They were mandated to transport to their supporters in the 6,868 polling units, 319 wards and 23 local government areas in Rivers State.

“We have pictorial, visual and individual testimonies to this. So,  how did they contribute to the party’s presidential victory in Rivers State and unable to deliver their members who contested National Assembly elections on the same day?”

Okocha said since 1999, PDP had always won both the presidential and governorship elections back to back in Rivers State.

He added: “How did APC win the presidential election in Rivers State, while the PDP won 13 out of 15 federal constituencies in Rivers State, losing one to the APC and One to the Labour Party?

“How did the PDP win all three   Senatorial seats in Rivers State? How did PDP trounce the APC to a distant second position in the governorship election in Rivers State?

“What magic could have made it impossible for the PDP not to win the Presidential Election in Rivers State, even after Amaechi, et al, voted for the PDP in their units and wards?”

Okocha  therefore, challenged them to show the results of the Presidential election in their various polling units when next they come to the party secretariat.

He emphasized that their frequent visits to the party’s National Secretariat appear to be driven by ulterior motives. He questioned why their visits didn’t center on efforts to rebuild the fragmented APC Rivers.

He asked, if there were conflicts in the APC Rivers chapter, should they not be resolved locally? Is there a dispute between the Rivers State APC and the National APC? He wondered why their presentations seemed so focused on personal gains.

Okocha firmly stated that they never truly backed the party, nor did they sincerely celebrate President Tinubu’s victory in the presidency.

He stated: “Mr. Chairman, we summarise that the only group in APC Rivers State legitimate to seek compensation for the victory of APC/Tinubu in RIvers State, is the one here.

“Please contact us for our dues and appointments through the leader of the Political infantry in Rivers State, who is serving in the Federal Cabinet presently.”

Ganduje said: “I could recall vividly that the governor said at that time, people should not go out for voting some few hours before voting because he complained of intimidation.

“We said how can  a ruling government prevent his people to go out and vote. I said no doubt we have lost this election?  Because whatever you do, you didn’t even go to vote, then how do you claim that you have won the election?

“That was the beginning of the travail, i don’t want to go into details. Because you have mentioned more than the details I know.”

The chairman admitted that the party in Rivers State was highly fictionalised, that is a fact about it.

Ganduje noted, “Our party in River State is highly fictionalized, that is a fact about it. Our party in Rivers state was killed by litigations, that one is a fact.

“And one important question that you asked. How come we won the presidential election and lost the state election?  You said that was a miracle. Yes, if you say a miracle, there must be a messiah.”

The chairman commended the faction for working for the party during the election, saying without them, Tinubu could not have become the president of this country.

Ganduje noted: “But what we are saying, yes, there is confusion in the party,  but we don’t want members to overheat the system. We are focused, we are organised, we work scientifically in politics.

“And therefore,  give us an enabling environment, give us a chance so that we can put a round peg in a round hole, square peg in a square hole, so that we maintain our dignity as a party.

“We have to capitalise on what we have, we have to capitalise on the fact that we have won the national election in River State. We are not expecting anything less again, but give us a chance to see how we can have both the states and the national election together.

“Whatever it is, we have received your address and the party will come in and see how we can get a solid party leadership so that we can move forward.  But what we are begging, do not to overheat the system.

“Overheating the system, some will go for litigation and then a vicious cycle will come again. We don’t want too much analysis because they say too much analysis leads to paralysis.”