Amid the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, crisis, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has continued to associate with some top guns of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
It was observed that Wike has been meeting with APC’s chieftains, majorly from the Southwest, since the fallout that followed the PDP presidential primaries.
Recall that the PDP leadership crisis took a new turn after the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, ignored Wike, who came second and settled for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate.
Atiku was said to have ignored the recommendations of a committee he set up to pick his running mate. The committee headed by Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State had recommended Wike as Atiku’s running mate, but the former Vice President opted for Okowa.
But a month ago, three APC governors, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, and Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State had visited Wike in Port Harcourt, the State capital.
Though the details of the meeting was unknown, reports have it that the parley was aimed at luring Wike to work with the APC’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.
Since the meeting with the governors, efforts by the PDP to mend fences between Wike and Atiku have failed to yield results.
Amid the continued face-off, Sanwo-Olu stormed Port Harcourt to commission a flyover completed by Wike’s administration.
However, a socio-political activist, Deji Adeyanju, said Wike might work against Atiku considering his new-found love with APC chieftains.
He anchored his assertion on the fact that politicians were selfish and cared only about their interest.
Speaking with reporters, Adeyanju said: “There is the possibility that Wike will work against Atiku and PDP because all politicians care about is their political interest and self-preservation, but in essence, nobody can tell Rivers people who they should vote for or not at this level.
“But for political expediency and other reasons, you need a governor who can galvanise people so that there would be massive voting, so that people will not be disenfranchised.
“The numbers can be significant if the governor has the capacity to help suppress votes or increase votes. These are some of the issues you need a governor and party for, so when it’s not working, there is the possibility that the people’s will can be suppressed.”
