“Everybody Should Carry Their Cross”: Wike Speaks on Dumping PDP, Joining APC
- The minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, has addressed claims of his alleged defection to the ruling APC
- Wike maintained that although he is not seen at PDP events, campaign for the off-cycle elections and more, but he is still a card carrying member of the main opposition party
- The former Rivers governor who fell out with Atiku Abubakar and other top party chieftains but supported Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, said he does not regret his action
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Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
FCT, Abuja - Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) admitted that he is still a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) despite threats of expulsion from some chieftains of the party.
Source: Facebook
Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers state, fell out with the PDP hierarchy in the run-up to the 2023 presidential election.
The Rivers politician had insisted the party maintain its internal power-sharing formula by zoning the presidential ticket to southern Nigeria.
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Wike, alongside his G5 faction, which includes then-Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu state), Samuel Ortom (Benue), and Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia state), however, called for the removal of the suspended national chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu.
While Wike backed out from supporting Atiku Abubakar – from northern Nigeria – who won the PDP primary election, the former governor worked for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), leading to the emergence of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Tinubu later appointed him as a minister, a move that triggered debates on whether Wike is still a member of the PDP or not.
Despite the calls for his expulsion, the FCT minister insisted he is still a member of the PDP, doubling down on his support for Tinubu – the APC flagbearer for the 2023 presidential election.
As reported by Channels TV, Wike, during a Friday media parley with selected journalists in Abuja, said:
“I am a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). “Have you ever seen me change anything?”
Wike: ‘Everybody should carry their cross’
Although the FCT minister has been absent from major meetings of the party and has not been seen campaigning for them in the recent off-cycle elections, yet Wike insisted he is a member of the PDP. He added that he does not regret his action so far.
“The one I supported before, what happened? I have decided to take a break. As you see me now, everybody should carry their cross,” Wike maintained.
Why Wike isn't PDP's problem - Showunmi
Meanwhile, the former Ogun state governorship candidate of the PDP, Segun Showunmi, reacted to the brawl between the party and Nyesom Wike.
Dr Showunmi, who is vying for the chairmanship seat of the PDP, told Legit.ng that Wike's dilemma was another opportunity for the party to design a new model to solve imminent crises like that of the FCT minister.
He said:
"The man is on sabbatical working in APC, and we just let him continue in that direction.
"People who don’t accept that the political party is beyond one individual are the problem; it’s not Wike."
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Source: Legit.ng
