As the battle for who becomes President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s preferred choice for a Ministerial appointment in Rivers state gains momentum, a faction of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, has accused ex-governor, Nyesom Wike, of trying to reap where he didn’t sow in the February 25 presidential election.
This was even as they alleged that Wike’s ambition to get a Ministerial appointment serves as a springboard for his 2027 presidential bid.
You will recall that recently major APC stakeholders, led by former Chief of Staff to the Rivers State Government and stalwart of the party, Chief Tony Okocha, urged Tinubu to strongly consider former governor of River State, Nyesom Wike, in his Ministerial appointments based on his roles which ensured Tinubu’s sustained victory in the state during the presidential election.
Reacting, a faction led by Magnus Abe, represented by an APC chieftain, Chief Kadilo Kabari, at a press briefing, Wednesday, in Abuja, condemned calls from certain quarters urging Tinubu to consider Wike for a Ministerial appointment.
Specifically, he explained that before and during the presidential election, Abe had contributed immensely which led to the victory of Tinubu in the state, if compared with that of Wike’s.
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.”
Also, Kabari described Wike’s contribution as highlighted by Tony Okocha, as false, alleging 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.
“That is where Magnus of SDP, different supporters because Tinubu’s supporters were multi-partisan, those contributions are false. Now, they should bury their heads in shame that in plucking the fruits, they want to pluck the ripe and unripe and do not want those who wield, those who planted, those who watered to partake.”
He, therefore, cautioned against a campaign of calumny against Abe, and other political actors, adding that pursuits should be personalized with honesty, capacity, merit and fairness as yardsticks.
