PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria — The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has publicly rejected any possibility of former Governor Nyesom Wike joining their ranks, accusing him of terrorizing the party during his eight-year tenure as governor.
In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, June 25, 2023, the Publicity Secretary of the Rivers State APC, Darlington Nwauju, described Wike as an “enemy” and stated that he would not be welcomed into the party.
The statement made it clear that the APC attributes much of the difficulties it faced in Rivers State during Wike’s tenure to his actions and policies.
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“The terror unleashed on our party members in the cause of his eight years of maximum rulership alone is enough evidence to confirm that Wike has no business with Rivers State APC. Asking him to come and take over is asking an enemy to come and finish off his victims,” Nwauju said in the statement.
Furthermore, the statement alleged that Wike’s recent attempts to align himself with high-ranking APC members are part of a scheme to escape accountability for alleged misappropriation of state funds.
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The announcement comes as a surprise to some political observers, as during the last presidential election, Wike, who is a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, openly campaigned for President Bola Tinubu of the APC, bypassing his own party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The statement also noted, “For those who may be suffering from amnesia, a non-APC member cannot be a cheerleader for the entry of Wike into APC.”
As political maneuvering continues ahead of future elections, this development illustrates the deep-seated tensions between political figures and parties in Rivers State.
It remains to be seen how this will impact the political landscape of not only Rivers State but the nation as a whole.
