News / politics

Breaking: Obasanjo, Wike, Obi, others meet in London

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Thursday, met with the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi; and the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, in Lodon.

Although details of the meeting were still sketchy as of the time of filing this report,  we gathered that it was part of negotiations ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

Wike attended the meeting with his allies including Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State; Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, among others.

Our correspondent gathered that a meeting between Wike and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, will also hold in London later today.

Details later……

News / politics

Nyesom Wike has agreed to work for Tinubu — Masari,

The placeholder of the All Progressives Congress for the 2023 presidential election before the choice of Senator Kashim Shettima as vice presidential candidate, Alhaji Ibrahim Masari, has said the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has agreed to work for the election of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president.

Recall that Wike, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, met with Tinubu in the United Kingdom over the weekend.

Masari, who spoke in the United Kingdom, told the BBC Hausa Service on Wednesday: “The meeting was basically on the 2023 presidential election and by God’s grace, we are going to work with Governor Nyesom Wike.

“He will assist and we are going to win the election with ease, by the will of God.”

Asked whether Wike would join the APC to assist Tinubu win the election, Masari said he was not in a position to confirm that.

He, however, said Wike does not need to leave the PDP before he could assist anyone he wants to help.

He said: “This is because Wike is a big politician, a governor and he has control in some other states, apart from his state.

“He is good to the people and has associated with his people peacefully.

“By the grace of God, he will be of help to us.”

Asked if the new political romance will last as Atiku’s camp is still trying to pacify Wike, Masari said: “Well, only God knows what will happen next.

“But from what we are seeing now, what has transpired is that we are going to work with Wike and he will be useful to us.

“If you could remember, it was APC that caused the failure of APC in Bauchi, it was members of the party that led to the defeat of the governor from their party.

“The same thing happened in Adamawa State.

“So, what I want people to understand is that someone can still assist you, even without joining your party if he wants to.

“Furthermore, with the widespread acceptance of Bola Tinubu to Nigerians, …

News / politics

PDP crisis deepens as Wike reportedly refuses to meet Atiku’s emissaries

Since the presidential candidate of the party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar picked Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate last month, the PDP has been a divided house.

Atiku was said to have rejected Wike as his running mate, despite his recommendation by a 17-man committee set up by the party.

Following Okowa’s emergence as the PDP Vice Presidential candidate, some Wike loyalists dumped the party.

And in a bid to pacify Wike and his followers, the opposition party recently set up a nine-member committee to resolve the lingering crisis, but the Rivers state governor is reportedly not willing to meet the committee.

Also, his continuous silence over the crisis unsettles the party as nobody in the party knows his next move.

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue and former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose are believed to be Wike allies.

Some of the party leaders like Fayose and Ortom had recently expressed their displeasure over the emergence of Atiku and Okowa as the party’s flag bearers for the 2023 presidential elections.

Criticizing the party on Twitter, Fayose recently opposed the PDP, insisting that power must return to the South in 2023.

Also, Governor Ortom during his interview on Arise TV said he had not made up his mind to support Atiku. He also called out the PDP for allegedly betraying Wike.

It would be recalled that in 2021, Southern Governors reached an agreement that power just shift to their region in 2023.

The governors vowed to oppose any political party that presents a northerner as its presidential candidate.

Despite the clamor for power to return to the south, the PDP decided to throw its presidential ticket open to aspirants from all regions, and Atiku, a northerner emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.

Wike came second in the primary election that produced Atiku as the PDP flagbearer.

Speaking on the crisis, a PDP chieftain in Rivers State told Daily Trust that Atiku would be paid back in his own coin, adding that

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News / politics

PDP panel okays Nyesom Wike as Atiku Abubakar’s running mate

A Panel has recommended Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike as running mate to Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

It took the decision after a marathon meeting of the National Advisory Committee, an ad-hoc panel set up by the party leadership to recommend a suitable running mate for the candidate, took the decision yesterday.

It was gathered that Wike was picked following a voice vote.

He polled 16 votes out of 20. Three other governors: Ifeanyi Okowa (Delta), Udom Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), were dropped for the Rivers State Governor.

The panel is chaired by PDP Deputy National Chairman (North), Ambassador Umar Damagum.

Other members include PDP National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu; National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature; and Governors Samuel Ortom (Benue), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Bala Mohammed (Bauchi).

Also on the panel are former Governors Sule Lamido (Jigawa), Ahmed Makarfi (Kaduna), Liyel Imoke (Cross River) and Babangida Aliyu (Niger).

Senator Philip Aduda (FCT), Reps Minority Leader Ndudi Elumelu and former Senate President David Mark are also members.

It was gathered that Abubakar had on May 30 offered Wike the vice presidential slot, but the governor was said to have pleaded for time to enable him to make consultations.

It was further learnt that Governor Ortom was consulted by Wike.

According to sources, Ortom encouraged Wike to accept the offer.

The Nation.…

News / politics

Most of those around Atiku have no political value — Wike

The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has said most of those surrounding the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, have no political value.

So also did Wike complain that there was an agenda to turn some Nigerians into second class citizens in their country.

Wike said these and more, according to a statement by his Media Aide, Kelvin Ebri, at a reception for him on his return to Rivers State after the presidential primaries of the PDP, which he lost to Atiku by 237 votes to 371 votes.

He said he was disappointed that some Southern governors acted contrary to their agreement before the primaries. He said it was the agreement of the governors of southern Nigeria that the presidency should come to the South, and he did not betray that agreement.

He described as shameful the inability of some of those who were part of the agreement to stick to the agreement when it mattered.

He said at the reception in Port Harcourt, the state capital: “I contested in an election (primary) based on the principle and agreement with all southern governors and leaders of the South that presidency should go to the South this period.

“We have done our part. We never betrayed anybody because it is not in our blood to betray. But it is a shame to those people, some of the governors from the South, they are the people that were used to sabotage our course.

“Look at a region ganged up, then you, your region cannot gang up. You became tools to be used against the interest of your people, and you think you have won, you have lost.

“You will continue to be perpetual slaves. Rivers people, you don’t need to bother yourselves. The PDP needs us. If they say they don’t need us, they should wait.

“The winner (of the ticket) also saw it. They underrated us, but now, they will not underrate us again. We have all it takes to do whatever we want to do.

“It …

News / politics

Rivers State not treated as part of Nigeria, says Gov. Wike

Governor Nyesom Wike has accused the Federal Government of treating Rivers State as if it was not part of Nigeria.

Wike said this on Monday when he received a delegation from The Sun, which visited to present to him a letter notifying him of his emergence as winner of the Man of the Year 2020 award in Port Harcourt.

He said it was an injustice to exclude the state from those to benefit from the proposed World Bank loan.

He described it as hatred against a major state servicing the national economy. He said: “Look at the hatred: that you collect money from World Bank and Rivers State is excluded.

“If fiscal federalism does not start today, it will start tomorrow.

“That is essence of governance.

“Give me what belongs to my state to develop my state.”

Wike said he was baffled by the way things are done in Nigeria, condemning politicisation of government’s good policies.

On the controversial collection of Valued Added Tax by states, Governor Wike said he had no objection being a “brother’s keeper” so long as things were done legally.

He said: “Let me say clearly: it is unfortunate what we have in this country today.

“Ordinarily, I shouldn’t have said this.

“Bu, what I don’t understand is how everything is being politicised to ethnicity and religion.

“I have not seen a country that will never come out to say this is the right thing we are doing and this is the wrong thing we are doing, we need to correct it.

“When you raise an issue everybody knows is wrong, instead of people to see it from that perspective that this is wrong, we see it from the perspective of ethnicity.

“We see it from the perspective of religion.

“I have never seen a country like this in my life where something that is black and white, we begin to look at it well…are you sure it does not look like dark, blue?

“You don’t even need to be a lawyer to know that VAT …