Rivers: Wike Only Supported Tinubu Because He Needed A Safe Haven – APC

A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has accused the former governor, Nyesom Wike of trying to reap where he did not sow in the February 25 presidential election.

The faction led by Magnus Abe, represented by an APC chieftain, Chief Kadilo Kabari condemned calls from certain quarters urging President Bola Tinubu to consider Wike for a ministerial appointment.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Kabari claimed that Wike was trying to secure a ministerial appointment to serve as a springboard for his 2027 presidential bid.

Naija News recalls that major APC stakeholders, led by former Chief of Staff to the Rivers State Government and stalwart of the party, Chief Tony Okocha pleaded with Tinubu to consider Wike for a ministerial appointment as a reward for his contribution in the 2023 elections.

Reacting, Kabari argued that Abe had also contributed immensely to Tinubu’s victory on the state.

He insisted that Wike supported Tinubu because he was trying to protect his political ambition.

He said: “Politics is a game of numbers. As a matter of fact, Wike’s support can be bequeathed to seeking a safe haven having lost in every political equation. He is finding the Tinubu presidency as a safe haven and then the battle of offices as a war chest for the next election because we know him.

“I am not against Wike joining the APC as a matter of fact we have so many ex governors that are in the APC but none of them said they will take the party’s structure. If it were the serving governor that is joining, you will understand. At this point I am not speaking from a partisan perspective. I am speaking as an ardent supporter of Tinubu. In the governorship, I stood with Magnus, no apologies.

“This last election availed Nigerians a lot of opportunities for variety. So, I condemn in totality the attempt to stand truth on its head by claiming no other person did anything and also bequeathing all the proceeds of victory to one person who showed ethnocentric bias even in his distribution of offices in Rivers state.”

Speaking further, Kabari insisted that the contributions Okocha spoke about were false, adding that Wike’s camp is out to “reap where they didn’t show.”

“Okocha and his co-travellers should bury their heads in shame because the State of Rivers and the elections can be likened to the biblical, husband and partakers of the first fruit. We had people who cleared the bush, we had people who tilled the soil, we had people who planted the seeds, we had people who watered it. We had people who watched it grow. At the point of its growth, everybody finds his branch in different political aspirations,” he added.