Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has disclosed that the G-5 governors have not reached a deal with any presidential candidate ahead of forthcoming election.
Wike made the clarification on Friday during the flag-off of the construction of Eneka-Igbo Etche Road, in Rivers State.
The G-5 include Wike, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Samuel Ortom (Benue). They have been in a running battle with Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate following the party’s presidential primary.
The group had insisted that the National Chairman of the Party, Iyorchia Ayu, must resign.
However, following speculations that the group has backed a candidate ahead of the next presidential election, Wike dismissed the reports, describing them as untrue.
“[They said] Wike had an interview with BBC and he said we have a deal with so and so. Meanwhile, no video, no audio. And some of you waste your time listening to such things.
“So, my dear people, I just want to tell you that whatever decision I will take, I will let you know. I cannot take any decision without taking advice from you,” Wike said.
I’ll reveal my preferred presidential candidate in January — Wike
Nyesom Wike, Rivers governor, says he will start campaigning for his preferred presidential candidate in January.
Since losing out in the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), there has been a crisis in the party over calls for Iyorchia Ayu to step down from his position as national chairman of the party.
The calls, championed by Wike and his allies, are based on the grounds that the PDP presidential candidate and national chairman cannot be from the same region.
Amid the crisis, the Integrity Group inclusive of five PDP governors — Wike, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu — was formed.
All five governors have exempted themselves from the campaign of Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP, for the 2023 general election.
Speaking on Thursday at the inauguration of a flyover in Obi-Akpor LGA, Wike said he will mobilise people “from state to state” for his preferred candidate from January.
“From January next year, I will campaign to my people who they will vote for. So, all of you who have been suspects and have been saying all kinds of things and abusing me, wait. January has come,” he said.
“Not only will I tell them where they will vote, I will also move from state to state and [tell them] why they should vote for people I think they should vote for.
“Nothing will happen. So, all of you appearing on television [to] abuse me, don’t waste your saliva again. January will come. All those of you that tell people you have 40 shoes and 50 wristwatches, the time has come to convert those watches to votes.
“Those of you who haven’t been stable, moving from one political party to another – you move from PDP to here, you move from here back to PDP; those of you, who in 2015, you said if they vote for PDP, they are voting for insurgency, corruption, wait.
“All of us will reply to tell Nigeria the things you said, how far are they now? Is it the same PDP or a new PDP?”
2023: Anxiety in Amaechi’s camp as Wike allegedly seals deal with Tinubu
There is anxiety in the camp of Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation, over the deal between Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.
Amaechi, who also vied for the APC presidential ticket, came second during the presidential primaries of the APC in June.
Though Amaechi was named as the special adviser on infrastructure in the Presidential Campaign Council of Tinubu, Daily Trust reports that he has not been participating in the campaign exercise.
The former governor of Rivers State, who was the campaign DG of President Buhari in 2015 and 2019, has been at loggerheads with Wike since 2013.
A source close to him in Abuja told this paper that Amaechi was not being treated fairly by Tinubu and the people around him.
“It is an understatement to say he (Amaechi) is not happy. When Oshiomhole went to Port Harcourt, he asked the people to only support Tinubu and that for the other positions, they should support Wike. A similar thing was re-echoed when the Ebonyi governor visited the state,” he said.
He, however, faulted the report that Amaechi was mulling defection to the PDP.
“It is not true that he has met Atiku. He is not leaving APC, the party he co-founded,” he said.
A chieftain of the party in the state, Steve Nwankwo, said that whatever alliance Wike has with Tinubu will not in any way diminish the influence of Amaechi in the party.
He said that Amaechi had laboured to build the party structures in the state saying that the former minister and his supporters were not afraid of whatever alliance governor Wike has with the APC presidential candidate.
The Publicity Secretary of APC in Rivers State, Mr Darlington Nwauju, said Wike’s alliance with Tinubu was in the realms of conjectures and speculations.
