Rivers Tinubu Group Flays Alleged Wike’s Ministerial Ambition

* Says it’s launchpad for 2027

Emameh Gabriel in Abuja 

A group under the aegis of Tinubu Shettima Independent Campaign Council, which is also sympathetic to Senator Magnus Abe, has accused former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike of using his proteges in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to secure for himself a ministerial slot to remain relevant in the polity ahead of 2027.

This was even as they alleged that Wike was trying to reap where he didn’t sow and plotting to deny other ethnic groups in the state the benefit of equitable share of the dividends of democracy.

Some APC stakeholders under the aegis of Amalgamated Bola Tinubu Campaign Council led by a former Chief of Staff to former Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and stalwart of the party, Chief Tony Okocha, had Tuesday urged President Tinubu to strongly consider Wike in his ministerial appointments based on his role which gave Tinubu victory in the state during the presidential election.

But reacting to Okocha’s position at a press conference in Abuja Wednesday, the Director of the group, Chief Kadilo Kabari, condemned calls from certain quarters urging Tinubu to consider Wike for a ministerial appointment, adding that it would be wrong for only one ethnic group in the state to be in control of the entire power structure of the state.

He explained that before and during the February 25 presidential election, Abe had contributed largely to the victory of Tinubu in the state, if compared to that of Wike’s. 

Kabari said: “Politics is a game of numbers. As a matter of fact, Wike’s support can be bequeathed to seeking a safe haven having lost in every political equation. He is finding the Tinubu presidency as a safe haven and then the battle of offices as a war chest for the next election because we know him. 

“I am not against Wike joining the APC. As a matter of fact, we have so many ex governors that are in the APC but none of them said they will take the party’s structure. If it were the serving governor that is joining, you will understand. At this point, I am not speaking from a partisan perspective. I am speaking as  an ardent supporter of Tinubu. In the governorship, I stood with Magnus, no apologies. 

“This last election availed Nigerians a lot of opportunities for variety. So, I condemn in totality the attempt to stand truth on its head by claiming no other person did anything and also bequeathing all the proceeds of victory to one person who showed ethnocentric bias even in his distribution of offices in Rivers State.”

He further described Wike’s contributions to the party as highlighted by Okocha, and the allegations that Abe worked against Tinubu as false, alleging that Wike’s camp are out to “reap where they didn’t sow” 

His words: “Okocha and his co-travellers should  bury their heads in shame because the state of Rivers and the elections can be likened to the biblical husband and partakers of the first fruit. We had people who cleared the bush, we had people who tilled the soil, we had people who planted the seeds, we had people who watered it. We had people who watched it grow. At the point of its growth, everybody finds his branch in different political aspirations. 

“That is where Magnus of SDP is different. Now, they should bury their heads in shame that in plucking the fruits, they want to pluck the ripe and unripe and do not want those who wield, those who planted, those who watered to partake.”

He, therefore, cautioned against a campaign of calumny against Abe and other political actors, adding that pursuits should be personalized with honesty, capacity, merit and fairness as yardsticks.