The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has warned the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and governors of the South-West against their romance with Governor Nyesom Wike.
The warning was coming from the stakeholders of the party which comprise the candidates of the National Assembly and state House of Assembly and other party faithful in the state.
According to them, it was discouraging for members of the party in Rivers State to see leaders of the party that they look up to romancing with a known political opponent like River State Governor Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party.
They frown that these leaders go as far as visiting the state to inaugurate projects on the invitation of the governor. This, they stressed, helps to campaign for the ruling party in the state by heaping praises on him (Wike) ahead of a general election.
They spoke at a one-day consultative meeting of the South-South executive committee presided over by the APC National Vice Chairman of the zone, Chief Victor Giadom, in Port Harcourt on Sunday evening.
The state APC legal adviser, Dike Iheanyi Zubi, while speaking at the meeting said it was unfair for governors of the South-West to hold nocturnal meetings with Wike and return to their states without bothering to an interface or speak with their party members in the state.
Zubi further said the action of Tinubu who has held meetings with Wike abroad and the action of the governors concerned were tantamount to anti-party activities and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call them (Tinubu and the South-West governors) to order.
He said, “It is very discouraging for the APC here in Rivers State to see a situation where the presidential candidate of our party, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, and his handlers, including South-West Governors of the APC coming to the state to undermine our party here in Rivers State.
“And they begin to hobnob and hold nocturnal meetings with Wike, who is seen as a contender with the APC here in the state.
“So, we as APC members here frown at such action because it doesn’t encourage us here. We consider it as anti-party on the side of Ahmed Tinubu and his cohorts.
“Instead of coming to strengthen the Rivers State chapter of the party, they are busy hobnobbing with Governor Wike, who is a PDP member. For the APC in Rivers State, we see it as an affront and anti-party.
“So, I call on the national chairman of the party and President Buhari to call him (Tinubu) and his cohorts to order. They should stop dividing the Rivers APC. APC is one family.”
Similarly, a former caretaker committee chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area and a house of assembly candidate for the 2023 election, Prof. Lawrence Chukwu, said the action of the party leaders was embarrassing to members of the state.
“As a party, the kind of embarrassment we are receiving from our leaders who come to Rivers State is unbearable.
“Imagine that Governor Wike is abusing the president (Buhari) and our leader (Rotimi Amaechi) every day. Yet, our leaders and some governors of the party will come to Rivers State to commission projects in Rivers State.
“They will not even bother to visit members of the party before leaving. It is very bad. The APC here in Rivers State has what it takes to win elections here. All we need is support, we need financial support from the national.
“This kind of embarrassment should stop. The party must do what is right to win elections in the state,” Prof. Chukwu said.
On his part, the state APC chairman, Emeke Beke, who said he was speaking as an individual, expressed dismay that none of the party members from the zone whose names were submitted to the national level of the party made the list of the APC presidential campaign council.
According to Beke, “We have written to the President, to the national chairman, to the candidate (Tinubu), to the chairman of the governors’ forum and the Director General of the campaigns.
“You people asked us to nominate five, five names for the campaign council, none of the five names we sent appeared on the list because they don’t like Rotimi Amaechi. From the zone, no one (name) appeared. And the chairmen have taken a position on that. We will down our tool.
“As you go back tell the national chairman that Rivers State bought forms of over one billion naira. And what we are asking, remit to the state 25 percent of that money.
“If that money is not remitted to Rivers State, forget about coming to Rivers State to campaign for a presidential candidate.
“We will vote for our national assembly state house of assembly candidates and focus on the governorship candidate of this state and we will win.