The controversial Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike is back in the news following speculations that he had resigned from the Federal Executive Council.
One of the reports suggested that Wike decided to quit the cabinet to enable him concentrate on his governorship aspiration in Rivers State where he is currently locked in a bitter political stand-off with his former benefactor and boss, Governor Rotimi Amaechi.
Other sources said the minister decided to resign having failed to earn the confidence of President Goodluck Jonathan to be confirmed as Minister of Education after serving as supervising minister of the ministry for almost one year.
Former Kano State governor, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau was sworn in as the Education minister on Wednesday and immediately proceeded to end the 11 month strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) which Wike had failed to resolve.
It was also gathered that the Presidency had come to the conclusion that Wike’s political value even in Rivers State was exaggerated and could not be trusted to fly the PDP party in next year’s governorship election, prompting the presidency’s consideration for Senator George Thompson Sekibo as the party’s governorship candidate in the state.
Wike, according to sources in Port Harcourt, is weighing the option of realizsing his ambition on the platform of another party, possibly the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).
He was recently adopted by stakeholders across the 23 LGAs of Rivers State as the governorship candidate of the PDP.
Until recently, he regularly addressed rallies in the state ostensibly to mobilise support for the re-election of President Jonathan.
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