The All Progressive Congress (APC) in Rivers has said that FCT minister Nyesom Wike as well as the 27 state lawmakers at loggerheads with Governor Siminalayi Fubara were not members of the party.
Dr Tony Okocha, chairman of the APC in Rivers, told reporters on Thursday in Abuja that “People say Wike has decamped to the APC. They also say that the 27 lawmakers currently fighting with Fubara have defected to the APC.
“I need to make this clear to everyone. Much as I wish to have them in my fold, none of them has agreed to join us.
“I am the one that should know if they did. But, clearly, they have not. What the lawmakers did was a political gimmick.
“I tried to woo them, but they kept vacillating and did not.
“To defect, they must go to their wards, register and get their membership cards. None of them has done that,” he said.
In categorical terms, Mr Okocha said “Wike will never leave the PDP. He has always said that PDP made him what he is. He has always said that he would remain there.
“He is an ardent believer in PDP. He is not likely to leave that group,” Mr Okocha said, adding that, while Mr Wike won’t leave the PDP, he was, however, a member of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“In Rivers, I am 001 in APC, but in the Renewed Hope Agenda, I am 002. Wike is 001,” he explained.
On Mr Wike’s influence on Rivers’ politics, the APC chairman said, “Wike has done so much for Rivers, so he is strong.
“In the next 10 years, Wike will continue to influence the political direction in Rivers. It will be difficult to uproot him.
“Aside from his many projects scattered throughout the state, he has touched people’s lives directly. Such people will always be behind him,” he said.
He described Mr Wike as a politician that could identify with every good cause irrespective of political party.
“Once the cause is good and will give him a platform to serve his people, Wike will be part of it,” Mr Okocha said.
(NAN)
