There are strong indications that the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, is intensifying efforts to get the support of the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike for the 2023 presidential poll.
Contrary to some online reports that the duo met in France on Tuesday, multiple sources confirmed to The PUNCH on Tuesday that Tinubu and Wike met in London, the United Kingdom, on Monday as part of moves to work together ahead of the election.
It was gathered that some APC and Peoples Democratic Party governors also attended the crucial meeting.
Prior to the Monday meeting, the ruling party had attempted to cash in on the crisis in the PDP over the presidential primary won by former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, which left Wike aggrieved.
On July 8, three APC governors, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State visited Wike at his Rumueprikon country home in Port Harcourt, as part of moves to woo him.
Also present at the meeting was a former Ekiti governor and PDP member, Ayodele Fayose.
The PDP set up a reconciliation panel to resolve the crisis between Atiku and Wike. The crisis began after the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, emerged as Atiku’s running mate.
After several postponements, the panel met Wike in Port Harcourt last Friday but the meeting ended in a stalemate following the insistence of the Rivers State governor on the removal of the National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, over the role he played in the emergence of the former vice-president as the party standard -bearer.
Sources at the meeting disclosed that Wike’s representatives at the meeting said Ayu could not be an impartial chairman because he took sides during the special convention.
It was gathered that the failure of the reconciliation panel to assuage Wike’s anger had put Atiku’s peace moves on a shaky ground, leaving room for Tinubu to court the governor.
Confirming the meeting between Wike and the APC presidential candidate, a source in Tinubu’s camp said the parley was held in London.
He stated, “Governors Sanwo-Olu and Fayemi were equally part of the delegation. Contrary to what some online media are speculating, the meeting was held in London yesterday (Monday).’’
Asked if an agreement was struck, the source said he could not confirm because the full details had not been disclosed to him
The source added, “Don’t forget that Sanwo-Olu and Fayemi earlier went with Fayose and Akeredolu to see Wike in Port Harcourt on behalf of our principal. Definitely, something is going on between them. However, I may not be in a position to tell whether there was a sort of MoU or agreement between them.’’
‘Amaechi lukewarm’
On whether the romance between Tinubu’s men and Wike was a possible factor fuelling the gale of defections in Rivers APC, he noted, “We are not concerned about (ex-minister Rotimi) Amaechi at the moment. He has been lukewarm to Tinubu’s ticket and we know Wike’s action is giving his camp sleepless nights. In truth, what does Amaechi brings to the table?’’
Speaking further, the party stalwart stated, ‘’In the last elections, how many votes did Amaechi garner from Rivers for the APC? In the 2015 election, he raked in over 60,000 votes. In 2019, he brought 130,000 votes. What is all that? We didn’t even win 10 per cent.
“Politics is a game of numbers. You need to have people who will back your ticket, not people without electoral value. Wike has done far more than he did. I don’t know how Wike did it but he seems to have warmed his way into the hearts of his people and they seem to support him more. The way we see it, Rivers State is very important to anybody who wants to win the presidency.’’
It was also gathered that governors Samuel Ortom of Benue State; Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State and Seyi Makinde, were part of the meeting. However, The PUNCH could not independently confirm this.
But a government official in Makurdi who did not want to be identified told one of our correspondents in Benue that Ortom jetted out of the country on Sunday and would return on Thursday.
Though the source could not identify other governors on the trip, he said, “The governor left Nigeria on Sunday and is expected back on Thursday.”
This is happening barely six days after Ortom and his counterparts in Rivers and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde returned to Nigeria from a trip abroad.
