Abe Defends-Collaboration With Wike, Says It’s In Rivers State’s Interest (Details)

Ireporteronline reports that President Bola Tinubu, weeks after assuming office, appointed Wike, a chieftain in the PDP, as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

However, Wike and his successor in Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, have been at loggerheads. Despite the president’s intervention, the political crisis in the state appears to have no end in sight.

In a recent interview, Abe justified his choice to collaborate with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

Prior to this, Abe, who ran for the state governorship under the Social Democratic Party in 2023 following his defeat to Tony Cole for the party’s nomination, publicly declared his reconciliation with Wike.

Additionally, he emphasized that he believes in reconciling with anyone he intends to work alongside.

Abe said that he and other APC chieftains in Rivers State cannot, with all proper sense of responsibility, ignore the president’s appointee from their state.

“It makes no sense,” Abe stated.

“I’m comfortable working with Wike. I did everything to convince Wike as governor then, to work for Tinubu in Rivers State.

“Wike is my friend. Today, he is working in the APC government as a minister. We must work together,” the former lawmaker said while speaking on a Channels TV programme, Politics Today, on Wednesday.

When asked whether Wike has now switched his allegiance to the APC, Abe said, “Wike is a minister in the APC government and not a member of the APC.

“He is a minister in our government, and we cannot, with all proper sense of responsibility as a party, ignore the president’s appointee from our own state, who is a minister in our government. It makes no sense.

“So, he does not have to be a member of the APC, but he is an influential figure in the APC government and it is in the interest of the party to work with him and we will do so in the party and nation’s interest and to be able to give our full support to the president (Bola Tinubu).

“He was not a member of the APC when he led the G-5 to support Tinubu’s presidency bid. The president didn’t stop him then that he is not a member of the APC so you cannot support me.

“If the president didn’t say that, we, too, will not say that he is not an APC member, and so we will not work with him. We are following the footsteps of our leader, therefore, we’ll work with him.”

Earlier at the same interview, Abe commented on the APC structure in Rivers State, saying: “The politics of Rivers State, like we all know, for the past few years have been convoluted within the All Progressives Congress, and we’ve looked at the situation with the recent changes in the party.

“And the appointment of the Chairman caretaker committee in the state is necessary.”

Published By: Destiny.Jnr