Wike, 27 Rivers lawmakers not our members—APC

The All Progressive Congress (APC) in Rivers State, on Thursday dismissed the claims that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and the aggrieved 27 lawmakers in the state are members of the party.

The party’s Chairman, Dr Tony Okocha, made the clarifications in Abuja while fielding questions from newsmen.

Wike and the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are currently in a bitter political struggle with Governor Siminalayi Fubara as if they belong to an opposition party.

Okocha said: “People say Wike has decamped to the APC. They also say that the 27 lawmakers currently fighting with Fubara have defected to the APC.

“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.”

Okocha further stated that Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers State, would not leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying: “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.”

He, however, said that Wike is a member of the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’.

“In Rivers, I am 001 in APC, but in the Renewed Hope Agenda, I am 002. Wike is 001,” Okocha added.

Speaking on Wike’s influence on Rivers’ politics, the APC chairman said: “Wike has done so much for Rivers, so he is strong.

“In the next 10 years, Wike will continue to influence the political direction in Rivers. It will be difficult to uproot him.

“Aside from his many projects scattered throughout the state, he has touched people’s lives directly. Such people will always be behind him.”