Wike's Ministerial Consideration Divides APC In Rivers 

By Kelechi PAUL 

The likelihood of Rivers's former governor, Nyesom Wike grabbing the ministerial slot for the oil-rich state under President Tinubu's administration has caused a sharp division among the hierarchy of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state.

Already, there is a serious rift between the pro and anti-Wike supporters which has factionalized the APC in the state. While some are rooting for the official unveiling of Nyesome Wike as the ministerial nominees for the state, others have returned to the dugout for the continuation of pre-election mudslinging and campaign of calumny which characterized the build-up to the 2023 general elections in the state.

In a statement released on Tuesday to journalists, former Publicity Secretary of the defunct nPDP, a splinter group of the famous five Governors who defected from the PDP ahead of the 2015 polls, but now a chieftain of the APC, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka cautioned President Tinubu against the idea of appointing Wike as a cabinet member of the federal government, warning that such moves will prove counterproductive.

His vituperations come against the backdrop of an earlier statement by the former chief of staff to erstwhile Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, Chief Tony Okocha, who debunked growing insinuations that Wike’s name, said to have been penciled down by Tinubu, has been dropped.

Okocha queried the veracity of a media report (not Beagle) claiming that “Wike’s name was omitted after he failed to scale through screening by the security service."

According to Okocha: "This is the same medium that published a story claiming that former President Muhammadu Buhari was dead some years ago while undergoing medical treatment"

“This later turned out to be fake. Nigerians should disregard such fake news, as there is no iota of truth in it.”

Okocha, who claimed that Wike’s name is still on the ministerial list, asked who was nominated to replace the former governor to fill the Rivers State ministerial slot if the news was real.

“Wike’s name is still very much on the list. Remember, that these people never believed that former governor Wike would be considered for a ministerial appointment. So, the best they can do is resort to fake news.

“What offense did Wike commit to warrant his name being removed from the list? Which court of law in Nigeria found him guilty of any form of corruption? Lies from the pit of hell.”

However, the former national publicity secretary of the defunct nPDP, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, agreed that it is within the purview of President Bola Tinubu to appoint any Nigerian into his cabinet.

He, however, said that there should be reservations as this relates to the case of the former governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike.

He said that Wike’s conduct during official engagements as Governor “earned the country a global embarrassment. In saner climes, his likes are subjected to the slammer for their very many crimes,” adding that appointing Wike as a minister would be the greatest political mistake ever envisaged by President Tinubu.

“Nigerians have set a target for the President and they know that Wike does not fit into the caliber of people needed to help him meet the expectations and yearnings of the country's people as he lacks the minimum record and character prescribed for people who should hold public offices in the present day contemporary Nigeria.

“Check his antecedents, all through his eight-year reign in Rivers State, the ‘Treasure Base of the Nation’ could not attract any foreign inflow, not one. The state recorded zero investment all through that period.

“What do you think of a man that bragged so much about overhead bridges as legacy projects in this era of technology? Aside from those overhead bridges, he cannot point at anything as his achievement in office as governor.

Eze alleged that the former governor “already, has a case with the anti-graft agency for the billions of naira he stole as Education Minister during the Jonathan administration,” further claiming that Wike “bargained to refund the money and he was refunding N300 million monthly with Rivers money while as governor before former President Buhari stopped him. That matter is still pending.

“Aside from all of that, appointing Wike Minister exposes the fear amongst some of us in the party that Mr. President has a hand in the decimation of APC in Rivers State this past eight years where Wike deployed state resources against the party in the State.

“The above notwithstanding, Wike’s emergence as cabinet member will be an insult not only to APC members but also to those faithful who died in the struggle to water and sustain the party in Rivers State all these years.

“But one thing is sure and Mr. President must be wary of it; if Wike could destroy such a great political party like PDP, then destroying both Tinubu and APC will be like sipping a glass of wine.

“If he could abuse and harass his benefactor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, then abusing and deriding Tinubu will be like a walk in the park; If he could ignore President Jonathan and his wife after they imposed him on Rivers State and her people as their Governor, then be sure that ignoring Tinubu will not be an issue. 2027 is his target.

“If the President eventually appoints him, we will just cross our fingers and wait for the explosion of the bomb he will use against the APC and the President."