The claim made by a few disgruntled party members that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has strategically given Nyesom Wike, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, control over the APC structure has been denied by Chief Tony Okocha, the chairman of the APC’s Caretaker Committee in Rivers State.
During a live radio broadcast in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Monday, Okocha revealed the information. He claimed that those who make such accusations are only being economical with the truth.
As a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Wike has reportedly showed no inclination to leave the party for any other party, even though others have left it to perish, according to the former Chief of Staff of Government House.
“If alliances are what you’re talking about, I sided with Nyesom Wike and I still do. The difficulty of giving Nyesom Wike control of the party is that, for screaming out loud, he is not an APC member and is well-known to be a devoted founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“He has repeatedly boasted about how much the PDP has helped him and how he wasn’t in a rush to leave the party. He hasn’t discussed it with me or anyone else, so I’m not aware of it.
He wouldn’t, of course, keep such a decision a secret from Nigerians. Nigerians will be informed if Wike decides to leave the PDP at any point and join another political party.
He is a committed supporter of the Peoples Democratic Party as of right now. Anyone who believes that the President is giving a PDP member control over the APC would be missing the mark.
Okocha, who also serves as Rivers State’s representative on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) board, praised the party’s national leadership.
“In the business, I’m not by myself. As I told the national chairman, I don’t know how it happened, but I applauded their wisdom in bringing together eggheads and longtime party politicians, builders, anxious and agitated people, and people who want the All Progressives Congress (APC) to continue growing stronger.
That is what they put together, and happily, I lead that group. With the experience we’ve accumulated over the years, I believe we can combine all of these into a single straight jacket and the celebration will get underway.
