Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, says the Peoples Democratic Party would be fatally weakened if he chose to dump it for the All Progressives Congress.
Wike made the claim during his end‑of‑year media chat in Port Harcourt on Monday, December 29, when asked whether he might follow his allies in Rivers State into the ruling party.
In recent weeks, several of his loyalists in the Rivers State House of Assembly, along with Governor Siminalayi Fubara, have left the PDP for the APC. Wike, however, insisted he is going nowhere.
“Today, if I say I want to decamp to APC, that will be the end of PDP. You will see leaders of the party in other states who will join me.
“If today I say, gentlemen, look, we have had enough of PDP, watch those who will decamp in Benue; watch those who will decamp in Plateau, in Abia, in Edo,” he said.
He added that the recent defections do not compel him to do the same.
“But the mere fact that people have left PDP for APC does not mean I have to leave. No, it is not correct. I am still a member of PDP,” he added.
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On suggestions that Governor Fubara’s move to the APC could strip him of his political structure in Rivers, Wike told his supporters that leadership of the party in the state is not automatic.
He argued that, unlike in some other states, defection by a sitting governor does not make him “001” of the party.
“There are exceptions to the rule. There is nothing like 001 in the state; you register in your ward and not at the state level.
“So, if there is 001, it is in your ward, because every party member registers in his ward,” Wike said.
He further maintained that real leadership requires more than holding the governor’s office.
The minister downplayed the impact of Fubara’s defection, claiming the governor did not move with the usual political machinery.
“If a governor is moving to another party, he moves with council chairmen, party leaders, and members of the state assembly.
“In his case, the people had already left PDP and joined APC on their own; as such, defecting to APC doesn’t guarantee him an automatic ticket for a second tenure,” Wike said.