Wike Takes Stand On Dumping PDP For APC Over Zoning

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has made his stand known again on speculations that he will dump the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) before the 2023 general election.

Naija News reports that Wike is leading a group of five aggrieved PDP governors (G5), including himself, to wage war against their party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the party’s national leadership over zoning of the presidency to the Southern part of the country.

The G5 governors are also against having Iyorchia Ayu, a northerner, remain the party’s national chairman. The PDP chieftain has, on several occasions, shown alignment with the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu.

Wike’s moves have since stirred speculations that he may join the ruling party in the face of the 2023 election.

However, on Monday, at the 114th quarterly general meeting of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers in Port Harcourt, Wike reiterated that he would not join the ruling party despite its stance on zoning the presidency to the south.

Wike described the insinuations of his proposed defection as speculative, reiterating that he remained an unrepentant member of the PDP.

The Rivers State Governor informed the council ahead of Saturday’s presidential election that he would be voting for only the candidate that could guarantee the country’s unity, Naija News reports.

Wike said, “I am not a member of the APC, and I will not be. But they have made me recognize that they are the heroes of this country.

“The governors came out to say look, for the unity of this country, the presidency should go to the south. The governors of the APC said the way the country is, they want the unity of this country, and therefore, the presidency should go to the south.

“They could have as well said no, it doesn’t matter. As governors, we have the number. We can still say it should remain where it should remain. But they didn’t do that.

“They said the way we are seeing this country we want everybody to be together.

“Let no one say because I have the population; therefore, you will continue to dominate. In dominating, you need peace; without peace, you cannot govern.”

Rivers State Has Helped In Sustaining PDP’s Unity

Speaking on the crisis in the PDP, Wike said that Rivers State had helped to sustain the party right from the era of former Governor Peter Odili down to his administration.

According to him, it was wrong for a section of the country to deny other people the opportunity to participate in presiding over the nation’s affairs.

He said: “We are all Nigerians, and we want the unity of this country. We want Nigeria to move forward as a united country.

“Rivers State has always supported one Nigeria, and we’ll continue to support one Nigeria. But in doing that, we believe in equity, we believe in justice, we believe in fairness.

“As the governor of this state, I will vote for the unity of this country. I will vote for anything that will unite Nigeria.

“I will not support anything that will divide Nigeria. And that is what necessitated the principle of life and let’s live.

“If only one person continues to live, things will not be good. It’s not about party, it is about Nigeria. I am a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, an unrepentant member, who, in fact, built this party when people ran away,” Wike declared.

Rivers State Can Not Be Relegated

Wike declares further that a strategic state like Rivers cannot be relegated to play second fiddle in the country. He explained that the reason why he had been one of the arrowheads of those agitating for inclusivity in the PDP was because of his belief in the unity of the country.

The Rivers State Governor said though he did not encourage traditional rulers’ involvement in politics, he urged them to support the PDP governorship candidate, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, who he formally presented to the council, for the continuity of the developmental strides recorded by his administration since 2015.

“I will be former (governor) in the next few months. But former in a big way. My transition will be smooth; there will be no crisis.

“Don’t make the mistake to go and vote for another person. You want to distort everything we have done, and then our state will go backward. Let’s allow continuity,” Wike said.