By Charles Igbo
“He dumped PDP three days after collecting money from us, and promising not to leave”
Hurricane Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, on Thursday, November 24, descended on an otherwise respected Senator Enyinnaya Abaraibe.
Without mentioning Abaribe’s name, Wike dismissed the Senator as lacking in integrity, and urged the people not to vote for him again to go back to the Senate.
Governor Wike spoke at the Abia PDP flag-off of the Governorship Campaign as well as those of the National and State Assemblies.
Present, in addition to the host Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, were other members of the PDP G5, now known as the Integrity Group, led by Wike, and who are at loggerheads with the National Leadership of the PDP, as well as Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
They are: Samuel Ortom, Benue, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu and Seyi Makinde, Oyo.
Addressing the mammoth crowd in both English language and Igbo dialect, Wike told them the story of how a Senator from Obingwa came to him, and told him that he wanted to dump the PDP.
He said he urged him not to leave, and asked him what he wanted. The Senator, Wike revealed, said he wanted money. Wike said he was given money. But, three days later, the Senator left the PDP. He then asked the crowd if such a person has integrity. The crowd roared: “No.” He asked:”Will you vote for him again?” Again, no, roared the crowd. And he told them: “Don’t vote for him again.”
Wike: “This Senator is from Obingwa.He came and said he wanted to leave PDP. I urged him not to. He said he wanted money, and promised not to leave PDP. He promised me that he is not going to leave PDP. I called your Governor and told him that he has promised not to leave PDP. You know who I am talking about. He said he needed money. And we gave him money. Three days later, he left the PDP.
“Does he have integrity? Will you vote for such a person to represent us? Can such a person represent us? Fail, fail, fail, fail”
Senator Abaribe decamped to the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. Both he and Governor Ikpeazu are from the same Zone, and are contesting for the Senate seat in 2023. Before he dumped the PDP, he was the Senate Minority Leader.
