A former Commissioner for Power and coordinator of the now-defunct Tinubu/Shettima Grassroot Independent Campaign Council in Rivers State, Augustine Wokocha, has dismissed claims that former governor Nyesom Wike worked for President Bola Tinubu in the run-up to the February 25 presidential election.
Wokocha said Wike was welcomed to join the All Progressives Congress but that former Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, remained the leader of the party in the state.
Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, and four of his colleague PDP governors, opposed the candidacy of their party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, insisting that the party’s national chairman at the time, Iyorchia Ayu should step aside, a call Ayu rejected.
Even though Wike did not openly campaign for Tinubu, who was then the presidential candidate of the APC, reports said he asked his supporters to work for the party.
At the moment, there are insinuations that the former may be given an appointment by the President, having visited him at the villa multiple times after inauguration.
A former Chief of Staff at the state Government House, Chief Tony Okocha, at a news briefing in Port Harcourt on Thursday called on Wike to defect to the APC and lead the party in the state.
But responding, Wokocha at a briefing in Port Harcourt on Friday said Okocha’s claims that the former governor solely delivered the state to Tinubu in the last election and deserved to be rewarded was untrue.
He stated, “The victory of Bola Tinubu in the last election in Rivers State cannot be given to one individual. It is a combination of the over 200,000 votes from Rivers State, who voted for the man who is our President today.
“I ran the campaign for the Tinubu election. I can’t remember anywhere, anytime when the immediate past governor of Rivers State canvassed any support for the President.
“I can’t remember any forum when he referred to the candidate of our party. He did not direct his people to vote for him, to my knowledge. So I don’t know what Okocha meant by Wike immensely contributed to Tinubu’s Victory. So, it is important we continue to appreciate Rivers people. Of course, people worked and those who did the canvassing to convince people that Tinubu was a better candidate also deserve our appreciation and gratitude.”
Wokocha said though he was not opposed to Wike joining the APC if he desires to, the party had a leader and was not in search of one.
He stated, “Candidly, politics is the more the merrier. So, Wike coming to the APC is a welcome development. What is an aberration is to say Wike should come and take over the party. This is the same party that its members were hounded like grasshoppers by the man who is being invited to join the party today.
“It was the same Wike who said APC is cancer stage four and the PDP is malaria. But he is welcome if he has suddenly realised that our cancer is better than the malaria he is suffering from.”
He said it would be a major disservice to the people of the state to say Wike should come and lead the APC in Rivers State.
He stressed that Amaechi remained the leader of the party in the state and that this was not in dispute.
He said Tinubu had started well and that anyone who gets an appointment would be celebrated. “But nobody should take credit that is not their own and take claims that are not theirs. We won’t allow our people to be misled,” he added.
Meanwhile, the state governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, on Friday sworn in Dr Tammy Danagogo as the Secretary to the State Government and Chidi Amadi as the Chief of Staff at the Government House. Similarly, Dr Adaeze Oreh was sworn in as a commissioner in the Government House.
Fubara said his administration was mindful of success and that failure was not an option.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the governor, Boniface Onyedi, said the administration, founded on the mantra of continuity and consolidation, would continue to identify persons with wealth of experience for appointment so they could contribute meaningfully to its success.
He charged the newly sworn-in officials to be fair to all in their dealings.
