By Charles Igbo
The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, has described the victory of the Party in Rivers State in the February 25, 2023 Presidential Election as nothing but a miracle. That miraculous feat, Ganduje said, was performed by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. The Minister was the Governor of the State during the Presidential Election.
Ganduje made this statement when a faction of the Rivers APC, led by Tony Okocha, paid him a courtesy visit. During the visit, Okocha, who was the Chief of Staff to the immediate past Minister for Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, when he was Rivers State Governor, conferred on Wike the title of Leader of the APC in Rivers State.
For the records, Wike is, according to him, still a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, but turned rogue during the Presidential Election and worked for the Presidential victory of the then APC Candidate, Bola Tinubu.
During the visit to Ganduje, Okocha, obviously in reference to an earlier visit to the National Chairman by the other faction of the Party led by its Governorship Candidate, Tonye Cole, told Ganduje to deal with Wike and shun other persons “parading as leaders and members of the party in the state.”
He dismissed them as impostors who worked against Tinubu’s Presidential victory Tinubu in the State. He said they lack the morals to “visit the APC national secretariat to ask for appointments in a government they worked against.”
Said Okocha: “We pray, Mr Chairman, to discountenance the machinations of the pretenders, who via hues and cries and trumping up lies, want to negate the natural law that aptly recommends that ‘one reaps where the one sows.’
“Those persons never supported the party nor are they sincere in their hearts, to be happy that President Tinubu made it to the Presidency.
“Mr Chairman, we summarise that the only group in APC Rivers state legitimate to seek compensation for the victory of APC/Tinubu in RIvers state, is the one here. Please contact us through the leader of the political infantry in Rivers state, who is serving in the federal cabinet presently.”
Ganduje, in his response agreed that the victory of the APC and President Tinubu during the Presidential Election was miraculous, and attributed it to Wike. “Wike must have been the messiah used in actualising the victory”, he said.
Ganduje: “There is no doubt River state is a very important state in Nigeria, an oil state and also a reasonable population, which is an asset for election and an asset to any political party. So you can see how we cannot rubbish the State. Rivers, as a State in politics, is a very important state.
“In summary, our party in River state is highly fictionalised, that is a fact about it. Our party in Rivers state was killed by litigations, that one is a fact. And one important question that you asked is how come we won presidential election and lost state election. You said that was a miracle. Yes, if you say a miracle, there must be a messiah.
“We have to thank and congratulate you over the positive outcome of the election and what you did was as a result of what we are enjoying now because without winning Federal Election across many states, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed could not have become the President of this country.
“We have to congratulate you for that. What we are saying, is that yes, there is confusion in the Party, but we don’t want members to overheat the system. We are focused, we are organised, we work scientifically in politics.
“Therefore, give us an enabling environment, give us a chance so that we can put a round peg in a round hole, square peg in a square hole to maintain our dignity as a party.
“We have to capitalize on what we have, we have to capitalize on the fact that we have won the National Election in River state.
“We are not extracting anything less again, but give us a chance to see how we can have both the State and the National Election together. Whatever it is, we have received your address, and the party will come in and see how we can get a solid party leadership that we can move forward.
“But what we are begging is do not overheat the system. In overheating the system, some will go for litigation and then a vicious cycle will come again. We don’t want too much analysis because they say too much analysis leads to paralysis. So give us a chance so that we can consult, so that we look at the constitution of APC and then we wait and see how we can put things in order.”
Recall that while the APC won Rivers State in the Presidential Election, the PDP won in all other elections, including the National Assembly Election which was held same day as the Presidential election.
Not a few people have described the outcome of the Elections in the State as not only a miracle but controversial.
For pulling off that feat for the APC, Wike was rewarded by President Tinubu with a Ministerial appointment.
