Why Gov. WIKE IS Likely To Support TINUBU

The Rivers State Governor and leader of the aggrieved PDP Governors, Nyesom Esenwo Wike is likely to support the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the February 25th, 2023 presidential election. This is because of his own ambition to be elected as presidential candidate of the PDP in the 2027 election. Since he has been unable to actualise his agitation to remove Senator Iyorchia Ayu as National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), he feels supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC) is the best option politically. Instead of having an Easterner and Igbo presidential candidate in the person of His Excellency, Peter Obi of the Labour Party, Governor Wike feels a Tinubu Presidency would help him. Should Peter Obi get elected as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, feelers from Wike’s camp indicate that it would be difficult for Wike to get home support from the South-South and South-Eastern Nigeria. He believes supporting a South Westerner in 2023 will offer him a comfortable ground to solicit for support from that geo-political zone in the next two years, irrespective of who wins the 2023 presidential election, either Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu or His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar.

It has been gathered that several meetings are being held between Rivers State Governor or his proxies with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s proxies. They are all targeted at how to support a South-Western presidential candidate with both material resources and other political strategies with the employment of over Five Hundred Thousand (500,000) political aides who will recruit five voters each in the Polling Units within the 319 electoral wards in Rivers State and the 23 Local Government Areas. At an electioneering campaign recently Governor Wike repeated his usual anti-Atiku Abubakar rhetoric by listing candidates whom voters should cast their votes for except the PDP Presidential candidate H.E Atiku Abubakar whom he alleged had never solicited for his support and that would anyone support someone who never requested for support in this election? He told supporters of PDP at Grand Bonny Island that they should wait for direction on the choice of presidential candidate to vote but that all PDP candidates should surely returned at the polls come 25th February and 11th of March 2023.

Already, the foot soldiers of the Rivers State Governor Wike are all in the know about the Governor’s preferred presidential candidate and the Ikwerre Local Government Council Chairman, Engr. Samuel Nwanosike Ph.D has been quoted by a section of the media as mentioning Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the  one to be voted for by Rivers State loyalists and supporters to the Governor.

– Emeka Amaefula

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