The All Progressives Congress (APC) has confirmed ongoing efforts to entice FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, to join their ranks, proposing that upon his acceptance, he would assume the leadership mantle within the party in Rivers State.
Despite Wike’s staunch assertion of his membership in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the former governor has found himself in a tussle with his party since the 2023 general elections.
His defeat in the PDP’s presidential primary to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar ignited tensions.
Recent discord between Wike and his political protege, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has led to a split within the State House of Assembly, resulting in the defection of 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike to the APC.
Following the declaration of these lawmakers’ seats as vacant by the court-recognized House Speaker, Edison Ehie, a Fubara loyalist, the APC’s Rivers State chapter has confirmed the collapse of peace talks initiated between Wike and Fubara by President Bola Tinubu.
As reported by Daily Trust, Tony Okocha, the caretaker committee chairman of the APC in the state, revealed this during a media briefing at the APC national secretariat in Abuja yesterday, after a meeting with the National Working Committee (NWC).
“We want APC to win Rivers this time, and when he (Wike) comes, he will be the leader of the party in the state,” Okocha affirmed.
Regarding Tinubu’s reported intervention, Okocha stated, “I wasn’t part of it, but whatever that was, it has broken down, and it has been broken irreconcilably.”
He also addressed the passage of the 2024 fiscal year’s budget by the assembly, emphasizing that it lacked legitimacy without the presence of the 27 defected members and labeled it as unconstitutional.
Furthermore, Okocha hinted at the possibility of initiating impeachment proceedings against Gov Fubara due to alleged constitutional violations.
“Although I am not a member of the state House of Assembly, but impeachment is a democratic process. Impeachment is not a coup detat,” he clarified.
Commenting on the demolition of the state House of Assembly complex, Okocha emphasized the APC’s stance against illegal activities and asserted that the defected lawmakers would continue convening elsewhere, emphasizing the importance of the mace as the assembly’s emblem of authority.
“Let me also let you know that what makes an assembly is not the structure, but the human beings in that assembly.
“So, an assembly can be moved to anywhere, provided the mace which is its symbol of authority is there. As at yesterday, about 27 members sat and took far-reaching decisions on state matters,” he concluded.
