2023 KOGI, IMO & BAYELSA GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION UPDATES

APC Leader, Okocha Supports Wike For Ministerial Position

Published

1 year ago

Jul 12, 2023.

Eko Hot Blog reports that Chief Tony Okocha, a notable figure within the All Progressives Congress (APC), has expressed support for the inclusion of former Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, in President Bola Tinubu’s administration as a ministerial appointee.

There have been speculations suggesting that Wike seeks a ministerial role as a stepping stone for his 2027 presidential ambitions.

Okocha, however, clarified in an Abuja press briefing on Tuesday that Wike was pivotal in ensuring Tinubu’s presidential election win on February 25.

Referring to Wike as a politician with a consistent track record of securing victories, Okocha insists that Wike is deserving of the state’s ministerial position in Tinubu’s cabinet.

He pointed out that while his former boss, Rotimi Amaechi, left the APC in Rivers State after losing the party’s presidential primary to Tinubu, Wike remained steadfast in assuring Tinubu’s triumph during the presidential election.

Referring to Wike as a politician with a consistent track record of securing victories, Okocha insists that Wike is deserving of the state’s ministerial position in Tinubu’s cabinet.

Okocha said, “There’s no politician living in Rivers today that can challenge Wike. We have said that whatever is due to us in Rivers should be handed over to him because he knows those people who worked for Tinubu.

“If you name Tinubu’s soldiers, even those that hate me the most will say I was at the epicentre of Tinubu’s victory. However, if there is any benefit that comes out of what I did, that is secondary, but for people to turn the truth on the head because of an appointment, I will not accept that.

“All of us know that the G-5 Governors insisted that until things were made right; until power shifted to the South and that until Ayu resigned, they would not work for Atiku. Now, the spin doctor who made sure everything worked out for Tinubu is Wike.

“The activities of the G-5 were instrumental to the success of Tinubu in Nigerian politics today. Look at the ratio: APC won 12 states, and PDP won 10 states. Assuming PDP people worked together, they would have taken more states. I am telling you that in our own case, I would have been the one person to say no, don’t give it to him because I had the house. He didn’t come to see an empty house. I would have decided to appropriate everything to myself and behave like a crab.

“But if you have somebody that is more than you, why don’t you invite the person? If he helped us to win in 2023, are we now going to tell him to come to us in 2027 to help us win? Why don’t we bring him in because he has value to add? No politician in Rivers State today can surmount Wike. No one in Rivers State can challenge Wike.”

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