Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike of Rivers State has disclosed that he made efforts to convince President-elect Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu to leave the All Progressives Congress (APC) and join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2018. He said he visited Tinubu at his Bourdillon home in Lagos around 2:00 am to make his case, but Tinubu turned him down. Wike explained that Tinubu rejected his offer after he (Wike) listed possible presidential candidates in the PDP. The governor revealed this during a state banquet held in honour of the President-elect in Port Harcourt.
Wike expressed his support for Tinubu in the upcoming 2023 presidential election, insisting that his previous attempts to convince Tinubu to join the PDP were not anti-party actions. He also stated that the unity of Nigeria is more important than any political party. According to the governor, those who engage in anti-party actions are those who violate their political party’s constitutional provisions. He emphasized that the party’s constitution must be obeyed to avoid anti-party activities.
Regarding the opposition’s challenge to Tinubu’s victory at the Tribunal, Wike commented that it is only in Nigeria where elections are deemed free and fair only if the opposition wins. He urged Nigerians to focus on good governance, adding that if the country wants to achieve this, they must rally around the President-elect