Stop wooing Wike, Rivers APC warns Tinubu, govs

Candidates for the 2023 elections in the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State have urged the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the governors of the South-West to end their cozy relationship with Wike.

Stakeholders, including candidates for the National Assembly and state legislatures, and other party faithful, expressed dismay that Rivers State party members would see their respected leaders, such as Governor Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party, in a romantic relationship.

They frown that these leaders visit the state to launch projects on the governor’s invitation. This, they say, helps the ruling party in the state by praising him (Wike) before an election.

They addressed at a one-day consultative meeting of the South-South executive committee in Port Harcourt on Sunday evening.

The state APC legal adviser, Dike Iheanyi Zubi, said it was unjust for South-West governors to attend nighttime meetings with Wike and return home without engaging with party members.

Zubi stated Tinubu’s and the governors’ actions amounted to anti-party activities and urged on President Muhammadu Buhari (ret.) to call them to order.

“It’s really depressing for the APC in Rivers State to see Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his handlers, including South-West Governors of the APC, come to sabotage our party here in Rivers State,” he stated.

They hobnob and attend nighttime meetings with Wike, an APC rival in the state.

As APC members, we disapprove of such actions because they don’t inspire us. We consider it Ahmed Tinubu’s anti-party.

Instead of strengthening the Rivers State party, they’re hobnobbing with PDP Governor Wike. The APC in Rivers State sees it as anti-party.

“I urge on the party chairman and President Buhari to call him (Tinubu) to order. They should quit dividing the Rivers APC.

Prof. Lawrence Chukwu, a former caretaker committee chairman of Obio/Akpor LGA and state house of assembly candidate for 2023, said the party officials’ actions were embarrassing to state residents.

“As a party, our leaders’ shame in Rivers State is terrible.

“Imagine Governor Wike abusing the president (Buhari) and our leader (Rotimi Amaechi) daily. Our leaders and certain governors will visit Rivers State to commission projects.

They won’t see party members before leaving. Poor. Rivers State’s APC can win elections. We need national financial help.

“Stop this embarrassment. Prof. Chukwu said the party must do properly to win state elections.

Emeke Beke, the state APC chairman, expressed dismay that none of the zone’s proposed names made the APC presidential campaign council.

Beke instructed Chief Giadom to tell the national level when he returns that the state APC chairman in the zone adopted a position and wrote to the President and national officers, while he called for a 25% refund from the revenues of form sales in the state.

Beke: “We’ve written to the President, the national chairman, the candidate (Tinubu), the governors’ forum chairman, and the campaigns’ director general.

“You requested for five campaign council nominees. Our five names didn’t make the list because they dislike Rotimi Amaechi. No names appeared from the zone. The chairmen have spoken. We’ll stop.

Tell the national chairman that Rivers State bought over 1 billion forms. And we ask for 25% of that money.

“If the money isn’t sent to Rivers State, forget about campaigning in Rivers State.”

“We’ll vote for our national assembly and state house of assembly candidates and win”

“Rivers State fell because they don’t like Rotimi Amaechi. I’m Emeka Beke, not Rivers APC Chair.

Wike’s statements were on TV and social media. Wike meets party leaders.

If the national doesn’t listen to APC Rivers State, we’ll take our fate in our hands.

He said Governor Wike doesn’t have the political spread to win an election but is enticing its leaders with money inducement. He expressed worry that recognized party leaders are frequently visiting the state and dining with Wike barely months before the general poll.

He said, “We left government eight years ago.” Vote for us! Wike lacks the political support to win in Rivers State.

Wike is handing the bride to APC leaders to shortchange the Rivers APC family.

“My Rivers State candidates and members suffered.” Candidates sell their land to win elections and maintain the APC in power.

“Leaders we admire will campaign here. They’ll lunch with Governor Wike later. Tell them to avoid Governor Wike’s table. Support this state party. They don’t like one individual to be super minister.

If they don’t support us, we won’t support them.

Chief Giadom, APC vice chairman for South-South and previous acting national chairman, congratulated party members for their contributions.

It’s my Rivers State district. Everything you said is true.

“Everyone in Nigeria agrees with you. Governors Gbajabiamila, Fayemi, and Akeredolu all came to Rivers to commission projects, praising Governor Wike.

“You’re promoting our opponents against the APC. We’ll tell them.

Giadom stated, “We’re in challenging times.”

After the meeting, he told reporters, “We’re here to identify party concerns and provide solutions or face the consequences.”

We have come, we have listened to them, we have heard them clearly, and we are going to put them together and report to the national party in Abuja to ensure that we find solutions to all the things that we know will help us win election in Rivers State.

“I know the pains of my people, which is also our collective pain. We were not on the ballot in 2019, which of course we know that I was supposed to be a direct beneficiary of that ticket.

“But the manipulation of the system denied us from being on that ballot. So, people have the right to be apprehensive, they have the right to be worried.

“But I can assure them that, by the grace of God, we will be victorious this time around and APC would win in Rivers State and recapture back our possession of becoming in charge of Rivers State leadership and we will form a government and be in government house.”politic

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