Tony Okocha, the chair of the caretaker committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has declared that the 27 lawmakers aligned with Nyesom Wike in the state’s House of Assembly are not affiliated with his party.
Gatekeepers News reports that during a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, Okocha expressed his ongoing efforts to persuade Wike and the lawmakers to join the APC, but these efforts have not yielded results.
The political landscape in Rivers has become increasingly divided due to the conflict between Wike, who serves as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
This division is reflected in the state assembly, where the parliament led by Martin Amaewhule supports Wike, while another group led by Victor Oko-Jombo is aligned with Fubara. Okocha also asserted that Wike is unlikely to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“People say Wike has decamped to the APC. They also say that the 27 lawmakers currently fighting with Fubara have defected to the APC,” NAN quoted him as saying.
“I need to make this clear to everyone. Much as I wish to have them in my fold, none of them has agreed to join us.
“I am the one that should know if they did. But, clearly, they have not. What the lawmakers did was a political gimmick.
“I tried to woo them, but they kept vacillating and did not.
“To defect, they must go to their wards, register and get their membership cards. None of them has done that.”
Wike will never leave the PDP. He has always said that PDP made him what he is. He has always said that he would remain there.
“He is an ardent believer in PDP. He is not likely to leave that group. In Rivers, I am 001 in APC, but in the Renewed Hope Agenda, I am 002. Wike is 001.”
Okocha said Wike is a politician who identifies with every good cause irrespective of political party.
