Governor Simi Fubara of Rivers state has boasted that his predecessor, Nyesom Wike is no match for him in the current battle for the soul of the state.
The governor said he has defeated the former governor now Federal Capital Territory, FCT, minister, his estranged political godfather on whose back he rode to government house last year.
The magazine reported that Wike admitted earlier in the week that he made a grave mistake for supporting Fubara to become the governor of the oil rich state, promising to rectify his error when the time comes.
But the governor who has escaped impeachment from the House of Assembly members supporting wike, said he has put the FCT minister in his place.
Fubara spoke when the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, paid him a solidarity visit in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Thursday.
The visit was also part of activities to mark post-humous birthday of Isaac Boro, a prominent Ijay son and activist in his lifetime.
The IYC had assured the governor that he has their support in his current battle for survival.
Fubara said: “I am happy that you’ve told me this morning that when I call on you, you will respond. But there is nothing to call on you for because we have already defeated them.
“By the special grace of God, what they thought that they would have done to us while we were celebrating our one year in office, they are the ones sleeping with their two eyes open. It shows that we have the Ijaw blood. And what is that blood: it is the blood of action; less talk, more action.”
The raging battle between the two former allies worsened recently after some lawmakers lawyer to the governor elected a new Speaker for the state house of assembly, amidst suggestion that Fubara was planning to demolish the Assembly quarters where pro-Wike lawmakers currently sit.
Governor Fubara has since signed an Executive Order relocating the Assembly’s sittings to the Governors’ Office, where three lawmakers supporting him now hold deliberations, contrary to argument that he lacks power to do so.
Shuaib Oyedokun, a former Deputy National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party has defected from the opposition party.
The PDP chieftain said on Friday that he’s now a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
According to the resignation letter he addressed to the National Chairman of the PDP through his ward, local government and state chairmen, the politician said the PDP has lost the ideals of the founding fathers of the party, which he stated has been “contaminated”.
“As a functional member and leader of PDP (Ward 13, Jagun/ Osi-Bale Ode, Odo-Otin South Local Government, Osun State,) whose high electoral productivity and value have been credibly and positively acknowledged in my ward, across the local council, state and country-wide for the enhancement of the fortune of the PDP, I have the honour (though with pain) in announcing the renunciation of my membership of the party on principle, having observed that the ideals of we, founding members, had been sorely contaminated,” Oyedokun said.
“In taking this step which is not even without due consultation with my teaming loyalists in the PDP, I have decided to shift my allegiance to the All Progressives Congress (APC) where I believe my experience, efforts and leadership roles would be valued and appreciated.
“I decided to dump the PDP after consultation with my loyalists, and would be joining APC, where my experience, efforts, and leadership roles would be valued and appreciated,” he said.
Oyedokun is leaving the PDP few days after Emeka Ihedioha, a former Governor of Imo state, and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives dumped the party.
The former governor has yet to announce his new party after his departure from the PDP, the party he has been with foe over 25 years.
Also last December, some members of the Rivers state House of Assembly dumped the PDP for the APC due to the power struggle between the governor of the state, Simi Fubara and his predecessor now Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike.
Analysts insist that the development is a bad omen for the party as it prepares for the next general election in 2027.
The Federal Government has assured Nigerians of the safety of their pension funds.
Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy made this known on Thursday in Abuja, the nation’s capital amidst fears that followed his recent suggestion that the government was planning to borrow N20 trillion from the fund to provide key infrastructure.
The announcement was immediately greeted with serious condemnation from Nigerians, including the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar who raised the issue of safety. What then would happen to their savings domiciled with Pension Administrators, Nigerians have demanded.
The Organsied Labour represented by the NLC and TUC has also kicked against the plan.
For instance, Abubakar had contended that the plan was illegal and against the 2014 Pension Act. The federal government, he said, should look elsewhere to raise funds for infrastructure development.
Reacting to the controversy yesterday, Edun said due process would be followed on the issue, noting that the Pension Funds Act has spelt out the modalities for investing the funds.
The minister further stated that the extant laws will be followed in accessing the funds by the federal government, stating that the Federal government has reached a conclusion on the issue, which according to him is still under debate.
He said: “It has come to my notice that stories are making the round that the Federal Government plans to illegally access the hard-earned savings and pension contributions of workers. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
“The pension industry, like most the financial industries, is highly regulated. There are rules. There are limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.
“The Federal Government has no intention whatsoever to go beyond those limitations and go outside those bounds which are there to safeguard the pensions of workers.’
He explained that the federal government had only sought the advice of major stakeholders in the Pension sector on the issue during the last FEC meeting.
“What was announced to the Federal Executive Council was that there was an ongoing initiative drawing in all the major stakeholders in the long-term saving industry, those that handle funds that are available over a long period to see how, within the regulations and the laws; these funds could be used maximally to drive investment in key growth areas,” the minister said.
The fear among Nigerians stemmed from their past experience where Pension administrators and governments at different levels have mismanaged what is supposed to provide succor for them after retirement.
Amidst growing concern among many Abia residents, and in most States of the Southeast region over the perceived extortionist tendencies, harassment of innocent and vulnerable citizens, and other glaring cases of unprofessional conducts by some security personnel of most security agencies, the authorities of the Abia State Police Command have warned that they will not hesitate to visit the full weight of the law on any erring operatives.
At a meeting with Area Commanders, Divisional Heads, and other strategic officers of police formations in the State on Thursday May 16 2024, the Commissioner of Police CP Kenechukwu Onwuemelie directed them to embark on a serious and regular sensitization of police personnel under their Command on the need to always perform their duties within the confines of the extant rules and regulations guiding the service.
The CP insisted that reported and proven cases of unprofessional conducts, illegal duties and molestation will not be swept under.
Further emphasising the imperativeness of police personnel, observing a reasonable level of decorum in the line duty, CP Onwuemelie informed that the Video Complaint Response Unit CRU of the Command has been made available to the public, to aid in tracking and capturing observed unprofessional conducts by police personnel.
The interactive session between the CP and police formations heads,also provided a veritable platform for them to xray some of the challenges militating against effective service delivery ,as well as ways of resolving them.
The Source reports that in recent times, the operational ethos of most of the security agencies in not just Abia ,but most states in the Southeast geo-political zone have come under intense public scrutiny, with many questioning the real motives behind the litany of police, Army and Customs checks points in the region .
Besides the outrageously astronomical numbers of the security check points ,the perceived unprofessional conducts of some of the security operatives manning the check points as eloquently signposted by open extortions and dehumanization of innocent citizens, have tended to cast a huge cloud on their integrity .
Instructively, the Abia CP’s warning against extortion, came on same day as the vice was believed to have been at centre of a ghastly road accident at a police check point on the long stretch Enugu/ Port Harcourt highway, in which over 15 persons were feared crushed to death .
Witnesses ,said the fatal road mishap, involving an 18 seater commuter bus ,and a long truck occurred when the driver of the truck lost control and had to ram into the bus waiting to be clear by police personnel at the check point.
The unfortunate incident came on the heels of the death of an Aba based business man Emmanuel Michael, Okocha on April 19 as a result of gunshot wounds fired by a police officer at a police check point along Aba/Owerri road Aba.
The fatal short was said to have been a fired, due to the alleged refusal of the victim to offer money to the men of the Rapid Response Squad RRS at the check point.
In a move that confounded not a few, the Kano state Chief Judge, Justice Abdu Aboki, on Thursday, May 15, 2024, re-assigned the on-going prosecution of Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the immediate past Governor of the State, and current National Chairman of the ruling All Progressive Congress APC on alleged corruption charges by the Kano state Government to another judge.
This is even as the spokesperson for the Kano State Judiciary, Baba Jibo Ibrahim, insisted that the Chief Judge has acted within the provisions of the law.
While members of the public, including working journalists and other interested observers had taken their seats at Court 4, where the trial Judge, Usman Malam Na’Abba was billed to rule on the issue of substituted service on the defendants ,a shocking announcement transferring the case to Justice Amina Adamu of court 7 was made .
However, Ibrahim said the Chief Judge is empowered by law to transfer cases at any stage ,before judgment ,adding that there is nothing unusual about the decision to assign the contentious corruption case to another judge.
Prior to the judicial drama, counsel to the 6th defendant, Nuraini Jimoh SAN ,had argued that for substituted service to make any meaning, there must be clear evidences to attest to previous but failed attempts at serving the defendant .
He noted that making a substituted service on a company, would amount to a flagrant disregard for the constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria, insisting that the defendant cannot be served by substitution ,in the absence of formal charges and hearing notices before the Court.
The Source reports that the Kano State Government which has lined up about 15 witnesses had, early April, filed corruption charges against Ganduje, some family members and corporate bodies.
The matter last came up on April 29, during which ruling on the issue of substituted service was adjourned to Thursday May 15 2024.
He’s indeed a happy-go-lucky man. Life for him is a stream of ribald jokes. He seems to wear life like an oversized babanriga which he’s adept at wearing these days.
Senator Godswill Akpabio, former state commissioner; former two-term governor of Akwa Ibom State; former senator, former Minister of the Federal Republic and currently President of the Senate and head of Nigeria’s legislature. He’s the number three man in the land today and a ranking member of the bar.
From the foregoing, life has imposed gravitas upon him even if he weren’t born with that rare quality of leaders. But Akpabio has cut the persona of an extremely light-headed man. One could rightly say that he wears his heart around his sleeves.
This seems to have been his very nature since his days as governor. Give him the microphone and he reels out jokes and more raucous jokes. It doesn’t matter the occasion or the place. Though he may have delivered some good during his terms as governor, though he be a ‘learned’ fellow, he has managed to turn his entire life into an endless circus of ribaldry.
It must be noted that there seems to be nothing untoward about a man being perpetually simple of mind and bohemian. However, if such a fellow is a highly placed officer of state, elevated thoughts and conducts would be expected of him as a leading light of society.
Godswill Akpabio
But high-mindedness is not the forte of Akpabio. This explains why the Senate is conducted like a comedy show and one year as head of the upper chamber, the 10th Senate is already earning a place as probably the worst so far.
No law of historic significance has been made or even amended. Not a motion of importance is remembered this one year. All Nigerians see is a bunch of pampered courtiers in a kept legislature, settled as stringed marionettes of the executive branch.
No sooner did they convene than a special supplementary appropriation bill was passed hastily. A chunk of the fund was for procuring state-of-the-art SUVs for the legislators in a season of acute poverty. The trampled populace was still bemoaning this gross extravagance and the hawks swooped again.
This time, the lawmakers were said to have perverted the national budget by a mind-bending N3 trillion.
Yes, budgets were always padded in the past by the NASS but never to the tune of trillions of naira. Though the Federal Government was to disclaim this figure, noting that the actual is a little less than three trillion. The FG also made it known that whatever the figure may be, the surreptitious fund that was sneaked into the national budget is for constituency projects. But is it not common knowledge to all Nigerians that what the legislators call constituency projects are nothing short of grand larceny? A conduit pipe for spiriting away public funds?
But the point to note is that Akpabio’s 10th Senate has gotten brazen with the common till. Worse still is that they are hands-in glove with the presidency. This is ominous because this Senate seems to have forgotten its raison d’etre which is to check the executive arm. What we see in the last one year is a country on a rollercoaster to a certain abyss – no checks, no balances, no legislative or intellectual interventions and of course, no enlightenment.
Enlightenment is the soul of leadership. Immanuel Kant was high on medicine and here’s one of the greatest leaders ever, Thomas Jefferson, recounting Kant: “Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity.” Immaturity on the other hand, is the lack of resolve and courage to apply understanding without guidance from another.
Borrowing from Kant and Jefferson, Akpabio is right now at the vortex of history but apparently he doesn’t realise it. He may never until this epoch slips by him. He would then look back 20 years hence and would wonder what was wrong with him. He would wonder why he was so abysmal and puerile when he was ensconced on the golden hallways of his age.
Akpabio’s heedless, sulphurous outbursts against Godwin Emefiele recently have clearly circumscribed him as an immature and unenlightened politician who would never achieve statesmanship.
Even some smart kindergartens can discern that Emefiele is a victim of political witch-hunt and persecution. It’s the height of injustice and indeed ungodliness to pour hot coal on a man under intense persecution.
Godwin Emefiele
Akpabio in his yammering suggests that Emefiele is the source of the current economic woes in Nigeria. This is the height of insouciance! One can safely say that Akpabio embodies all the dark ethos of Nigeria’s post-military politics. Let’s try capturing the situation in tue very Akpabio-speak: God may forgive an armed robber, but he will never forgive a robber who captures the owner of the house and ties him to the stake as a thief!
Akpabio is trying to tie Emefiele to the stake knowing that he cannot hold a candle to him. While Emefiele has in the past one year, withstood the investigations of the DSS, EFCC, SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR and even DELOITTE, Akpabio can’t stand any scrutiny for one hour without earning a long jail sentence. This is common knowledge.
Finally, it must be noted that all the jazz Akpabio has been spewing about Emefiele further diminishes the Senate head as an immature mind. As Kant explained, a mind under the control of another is immature. We understand that Akpabio is currently tied to the apron string of President Bola Tinubu, but the situation calls for wisdom not gaffing.
If Akpabio cannot mediate on behalf of Emefiele, the next best option is to hold his peace. It is unlikely that Tinubu put a gun to Akpabio’s head to say all that jazz about Emefiele.
Wisdom is indeed, profitable.
Osuji, an accomplished Journalist, Writer and Columnist was a former Editorial Board Member, The Nation, and former Media Adviser to a former Governor of Imo State, Rt. Hon. Emeka Ihedioha
The Ekiti State Government, has appealed to the people of Eda Oniyo Ekiti, in Ilejemeje Local Government Area of the State that the lingering land dispute between them and their Obbo Ayegunle neighbours in Kwara State, will be resolved without further violence or bloodshed.
The State Deputy Governor, Monisade Afuye, gave the assurance in Ado Ekiti, on Thursday, while interfacing with Eda Oniyo community over a festering boundary dispute between the two towns.
The interface, according to a statement signed by the Special Assistant on Media to the Deputy Governor, Victor Ogunje, was sequel to a petition written by the community, raising eyebrows over how Obbo Ayegunle had allegedly been encroaching into its land and violently attacking the owners.
Meanwhile, Mrs Afuye told the community that Governor Biodun Oyebanji values peace and good neighborliness and that this should reflect in their conducts and behaviour until the matter is laid to rest.
“There won’t be bloodshed and the state government shall deploy the instrumentality of the law and peace building efforts to resolve this matter. Kwara State is our good neighbour and we can’t afford to fight them.”
The Deputy Governor directed the Technical Committee on Boundary Dispute to visit the area to ascertain the veracity of the claims of the town about the ownership of the land under contention.
During the parley, the delegation from the Eda Oniyo was led by Eleda of Eda Oniyo Ekiti, Oba Julius Awolola, former Commissioner for Sports and National President, Eda Oniyo Progressive Union, Dr. Rufus Ajayi, traditional chiefs and prominent elite of the town.
In their submissions, the petitioner, through Oba Awolola, complained about how some people from Obo Ayegunle allegedly invaded his town and started arresting people indiscriminately and clamping them into detention over a vast plot of land located between the two towns.
Oba Awolola said the Obbo Ayegunle farmers had been paying royalty to Eda Oniyo on the land for decades, only for them to stop and making alleged spirited efforts to forcefully take over the land from his people.
The monarch explained that the land under dispute belonged to the town based on the National Boundary Commission(NBC) resolution about the presence of Ondo State’s Pillar on the land and backed by a document gazetted as legal Notice No 126 of 1954 under Western Region.
The monarch said that Obbo Ayegunle relocated to their present location in 1927, while Eda Oniyo Ekiti, had settled in the town since 14th Century, sharing boundaries with Etan and Eruku in Kwara State.
“In 2008, there was a meeting called by NBC between the two communities where some resolutions were made in favour of Ekiti that the legal notice No 126 of 1954 should be allowed to stand because it remains extant document and yet to be amended.
“They can’t use threat and violence to retrieve that land. That boundary can’t be changed orally. They don’t have anything to controvert the 1954 document.
“That land belong to Eda Oniyo and what Obbo Ayegunle was doing was an attempt by Kwara State to rob Ekiti of its inheritance.”
Shedding more lights on the dispute, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Olugbenga Odesanmi, revealed that the matter can be resolved with government’s intervention, saying the land was about to be taken over because it was leased for too long by Eda Oniyo people .
Odesanmi added that Obbo Ayegunle, had expanded from their present location to the land under dispute, saying there could be need for the NBC to intervene and resolve the matter amicably.
In his submission, the State’s Deputy Surveyor -General, Surveyor Rufus Gbadura, said the land under dispute bore the pillars that demarcated the boundary between the Western Region and the Northern Province, which further attested to the fact that it belonged to Ekiti State.
However, in a counter move, the Obbo Ayegunle Descendants Union, had in a letter addressed to Governor Biodun Oyebanji, also accused Eda Oniyo Ekiti of intruding into their lands and causing unnecessary insurrection.
Painfully enough, this dimension came to fore barely a week after the Deputy Governor led a delegation to her counterpart in Osun State, Prince Kola Adewusi, on how to map out strategies to resolve the boundary disputes between the two contiguous States.
The failure of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to appraise ongoing Dredging and Water Transportation Projects in Lagos has brought to fore the call by Civil Society Group, Centre for Human and Socio-economic Rights, CHSR, for Governor Sanwo Olu to address alleged anomalies in the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development under the watch of the Commissioner of the Ministry, Hon. Yacoob Ekundayo Alebiosu. The Group alleges poor execution of dredging and water transportation projects across the State.
This call, the Group says, became necessary because the hope of waterways transportation for improved accessibility and movements across the State may not materialise soon in spite of promises by Sanwo-Olu’s administration to deliver on his promise.
A statement by the Group signed by its President, Comrade Alex Omotehinse, stated that It would be recalled that during the electioneering campaign that ushered in the State Governor for second term in office, he made promises to the electorate to provide water transportation facilities to enhance accessibility to other parts of the state.
However, recent happenings with regards to the implementation of projects raised doubts regarding the commitment of the Lagos State Government to fulfill it promises.
Unfortunately, there were several misrepresentations during the Ministerial Press Briefing by the Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development where the scorecard of the Ministry was provided in commemoration of the first year anniversary of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s second term in office.
Omotehinse said It is regrettable that the Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Alebiosu, did not provide accurate and substantial information on the prevailing situation with regards to ongoing dredging of waterways across the State.
He added that without doubt, water transportation infrastructure is a potential catalyst for transforming economic activities across communities and the neighbourhoods in Lagos State.
The Group added that nevertheless, it has several reasons to doubt the progress of works on ongoing project contrary to the commissioner’s claim that the Jetty at Amuwo Odofin is currently at 52 percent completion while both the Ijede Shoreline / protection Jetty and Mowo Ojoo Jetty stand at 48 percent Completion. We expect the commissioner to shed more light on the progress of reclamation projects across the state under his watch.
“There are concerns about shoddy works being carried out by the contractors, who from all indications, are either not well-equipped or competent enough to deliver. We are deeply concerned that these projects may end up being abandoned or lead to wastage of public resources unless Governor Sanwo-Olu undertake immediate assessment of the progress of works and ensure proper implementation.
“It would be recalled that a CSO Group, under the aegis of Joint Youth Progressive Alliance (JYPA) had raised concerns regarding the channelisation projects being sloppily implemented. Hence, the renewed call on Governor Sanwo-Olu to investigate and correct prevailing anomalies.
“In the same vein, another CSO Group, Alliance for Accountability, Good Governance and Development (AAGGD) faulted the lackadaisical approach to the implementation of projects for the dredging by companies handling some of the projects for which huge sums of public resources have been released.
“Ongoing projects eliciting concerns include the channelisation at Mende in the Maryland axis of Lagos metropolis for which substantial payments from contract sums are believed to have been made”.
The Group added that there are concerns by stakeholders including boat operators to the effect that the equipment deployed for dredging are low-graded and unfit to deliver on the specified job as expected. therefore there is the need for Governor Sanwo-Olu to allay the fears of the public by conducting assessment of the state of projects awarded by Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure Development without further delay.
“We are aware that residents in other areas to be linked with water transportation are worried about the neglect despite the promises made by Governor Sanwo Olu to ease their movements and to facilitate socio-economic activities by prioritizing water transportation.
“Some of concerned residents are also alleging that while the dredging waterways by was not prioritised where they are mostly needed. Residents are displeased the dredging of the waterways in critical areas where the project would offer huge relief to teeming population has been neglected.
“Some stakeholders are alleging diversion of funds released for dredging projects across the waterways in Lagos State through questionable appropriation by the Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA)”.
It therefore added that there are also concern that some of the ongoing dredging projects were awarded to proxies of leading members in the administration of Governor Sanwo-Olu who has achieved very little or no progress in spite of payments received for the contracts awarded.
Omotehinse said that more disturbing however is that some contractors handling ongoing dredging projects are said to lack the requisite expertise and without equipment to deliver quality jobs.
The Group is however calling on Governor Sanwo-Olu to investigate Ministry of Waterfront Infrastructure to allay public concerns and suspicions regarding arbitrary awards of dredging contract and ensure remedy to the poor implementation ongoing works.
It also want the Governor to ensure thorough diligence in the selection of contractors, and also that the immediate intervention of Governor Sanwo-Olu towards ensuring that resources are no longer diverted, but to also ensure that only contractors with requisite competence as well as required expertise and equipment are awarded the dredging of waterways to facilitate rapid transformation of water infrastructure in Lagos State is one of their major demands.
It also appeal to Governor Sanwo-Olu to remain focused in fulfilling his promises to Lagosians regarding waterways transportation to facilitate socio-economic development across the state.
Seven out of the 16 Governorship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state have made U turn and declared allegiance and support for Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa.
Aiyedatiwa was declared winner in the just-concluded Governorship Primary for the forthcoming election in the state in November.
The seven aspirants, in a statement stated that “We the under-listed chieftains of our Party, the APC, who were aspirants in the just concluded Governorship Primary wish to call all members of our party who have a genuine interest in the success of the party in the forthcoming general election in November to embrace peace for a resounding victory in the polls.
“The party position is that His Excellency Lucky Aiyedatiwa is our gubernatorial candidate, this position should be sacrosanct to us all even when some of us have expressed some reservations. We acknowledge that perfection is a moving target.
“As Party leaders, who have contributed significantly to nurturing the Party to impressive growth, we cannot allow anything that could lead to the polarisation of our Party with the potential consequence of undermining unity within our Party.
“We therefore call on our supporters and all stakeholders to put aside personal interests and allow the overriding interest of the party to take precedence.
“Victory for our Party in the upcoming November Governorship election is of paramount importance.
“We therefore call on all Party men and women to rally behind our party’s candidate, His Excellency Lucky Aiyedatiwa, henceforth to achieve outstanding victory.
“We hereby appeal to other aspirants and members of our great party, who are aggrieved to put aside their grievances in the larger interest of the party. We need everyone on board in the collective march toward victory.
“We endorse genuine reconciliation efforts as proposed by our party.”
The strong speculations that the Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, is planning to join the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has been debunked by Magnus Abe, a River’s State former Senator and Governorship Candidate of the Social Democratic Party in the 2023 Governorship Election.
Abe noted that even though the PDP former Rivers State Governor is an integral part of the President Bola Tinubu administration, he has no plans to defect to the APC from the PDP.
Abe stated this in an interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today.
When asked if Wike has now become a member of the APC, Abe said, “Wike is a Minister in the APC Government and not a member of the APC.
“He is a minister in our Government and we cannot, with all proper sense of responsibility as a party, ignore the President’s appointee from our own state, who is a Minister in our government. It makes no sense.
“So, he does not have to be a member of the APC, but he is an influential figure in the APC government and it is in the interest of the party to work with him and we will do so in the party and nation’s interest and to be able to give our full support to the President (Bola Tinubu).
Nyesom Wike, FCT Minister
“He was not a member of the APC when he led the G-5 to support Tinubu’s Presidency bid.
“The President didn’t stop him then that he is not a member of the APC so you cannot support me.
“If the President didn’t say that, we too, will not say that he is not an APC member and so we will not work with him.
“We are following the footsteps of our leader, therefore, we’ll work with him.”
Abe disclosed that he was the person that convinced Wike to work with Tinubu.
He said: “I’m comfortable working with Wike. I did everything to convince Wike as governor then, to work for Tinubu in Rivers State.
Wike is my friend. Today, he is working in the APC Government as a Minister. We must work together.”
