By Adesina Soyooye
For the third time within a couple of months, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha, have met.
The two politicians met Sunday in Abuja during the dedication ceremony of Okorocha’s grandson, in Abuja. His grandson is the son of his daughter, Uloma, and her husband, Uche Nwosu. Wike was their guest.
Until recently, not many people knew of the close relationship between Wike and Okorocha, now the Senator representing Imo West at the Senate. But Wike explained that the relationship between the two of them goes beyond politics. He says he has known Okorocha since he, Wike, was a Local Government Chairman.
But speculations are rife over the political relationship between the two of them. It first started when Okorocha, on Wike’s invitation, went to commission a road in Rivers State. At the Commissioning ceremony, Okorocha had hinted at a political work-relationship between him and Wike while saying there were bad people in both his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. He said the country needed to move forward, and asked the audience to imagine how progressive Nigeria would be if two of them were to be in same party.
Okorocha has fallen out with his party in his State, and there is no love lost between him and the Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma.
It is not known if Okorocha would form another party, but he is reportedly, the founder and financier of the Action Alliance, AA, the party under which his son-in-law, Nwosu, unsuccessfully contested for the Imo Governorship seat, after the APC denied him the ticket in favour of Uzodinma.
It is not known if Okorocha reinvalidated his membership of the APC or not during the recent exercise, but there is a strong speculation that he is planning to defect to Wike’s party, the PDP.
But Wike told Reporters in Abuja that he and Okorocha go a long way. He said:
“I have known him (Okorocha) since 1999 when I was a Local Government Chairman so, there is nothing political about it. I don’t abandon people because of politics. It is in my character to always keep my friendship with people. It is not based on party or politics.”
Unconfirmed reports say Governor Wike was one of those who took Okorocha on bail during his recent 48-hour stint in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
