Politics
Wike, Atiku And 2019 Polls
The outcome of a recent meeting of members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign council with Governor Nyesom Wike in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, had put paid to speculations that there are cracks in the party, especially following unconfirmed reports that Wike allegedly resigned his appointment as the South-South zonal coordinator of the party ahead of next year’s general elections.
Not only was that meeting held in the Rivers State Government House on Saturday, December 8, 2018 crucial to the party’s unity, it charted the way forward for the main opposition party in the country to position itself and prepare to wrest power from the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
A major fallout of that meeting of the party’s presidential campaign council, The Tide can report authoritatively that Wike agreed to lead the party’s campaign in the zone.
Needless to say that the Governor had threatened to abandon the party and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, as it were, alleging that he was being sidelined in some of the decisions taken by the party and its presidential candidate.
One of the issues in contention, it was gathered was that Wike, had said and rightly so that as a stakeholder, he was not consulted before the party constituted its presidential campaign council, especially as other members had been visible in the activities of the Senator Bukola Saraki-led council.
But impeccable sources at that meeting said that Atiku and other leaders of the party held the olive branch and pleaded with Wike to join hands with them to make it easy for the PDP to defeat President Buhari and his party in general polls next year.
One of the reliable sources at the meeting said: “It was a tough but friendly meeting. The presidential candidate spoke like a father while Wike also listened and presented his areas of grievances.
“The governor threatened to abandon the campaign, but I think it was meant to get his attention and also register his displeasure over some of the actions he believed were taken without his knowledge.
“At the end of the day, he (Wike) agreed to lead the campaign and also play prominent roles in order to enable us sack the APC and the President in 2019. All of us agreed that the APC is evil and the best way we can defeat it is to work together as a team. We will do that.”
Apart from Atiku, other top party leaders who were at the Brick House, the seat of power in Rivers State include the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus, Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; former governor of the state, Attahiru Bafarawa; and Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa.
Others, according to a Government House source, are Senate President and Director General of Atiku Campaign Organisation, Bukola Saraki; Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and his counterpart, from Cross River State, Ben Ayade.
The Tide learnt that some of the PDP heavyweights arrived in Port Harcourt the previous day, while Tambuwal and Bafarawa were seen with Governor Wike at the Government House on Saturday (December 8). Some of the politicians had attended the burial of the mother of Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State.
Only recently, as if foretold, a lawmaker in the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Tonye Adoki, captured the mood when he said that Governor Wike deserves respect and special recognition for stabilising the PDP in the country, stating with emphasis that the office of the state chief executive should not be undermined.
Adoki, who represents Port Harcourt Constituency 2 in the state legislature called for calm and urged friends of the PDP Presidential standard bearer, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who are leaders of the party in Rivers State not to undermine the office of the governor.
He said the State Governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike deserves special recognition for stabilising the party when some bigwigs dumped the party for the ruling APC.
According to him, “PDP leaders in Rivers State should learn how to play the game by the rules. They should not be in a hurry for power because power comes from God.
“We all know how this party (PDP) was and the problem the party went through and at the same time the strength and all that Governor Nyesom Wike put in to make this party get back to this shape that we are all enjoying today.
“For those that feel that they have known the Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar before now, and the presidential candidate himself should know that today he belongs to every member of PDP, not some group of persons that claim to be his old friends,” he noted.
Hon. Adoki further advised party leaders in the state to show restraint in their actions in order not to create disunity among party faithful in the state.
“The Governor is the leader of PDP in Rivers State, so he should be the one to call the shots. Events should not be taking place behind him. I mean, as someone that is young in politics, I do not find that so healthy or so good and I will not want to learn from such act,” the lawmaker said.
Consequent upon that meeting of the party’s presidential campaign council with Governor Wike in Port Harcourt on December 8, another parley was held where the party reiterated its unity and resolved to maintain its stronghold in the South-South.
This time around, precisely on Saturday, December 15, the party leaders in the South-South resolved to constitute the party’s Presidential Campaign Council and vowed to ensure that the zone remains under the control of the party after the 2019 general elections.
Wike, who addressed newsmen after the South-South PDP Zonal meeting in Port Harcourt, said: “We have resolved to set up a presidential campaign council in South-South and then take a date for the Zonal Presidential Campaign Rally.
”South-South is the Stronghold of the PDP and we want to retain that. All the states in the zone must continue to remain under the PDP,” adding that the meeting worked out modalities for the success of the party during the forthcoming elections.
”We have set up modalities for the success of our party in the governorship, National Assembly and State Assembly elections in 2019″, he added.
As expected, the meeting, which was attended by the South-South PDP Chairman, Bro Emmanuel Ogidi, attracted governors, State PDP Chairmen, National Assembly members, Speakers of various Houses of Assembly and former federal lawmakers from the South-South.
With the foregoing, there is no gainsaying the fact that Port Harcourt is the headquarter of the South-South, if the crucial decisions and momentous meeting taking place there is anything to go by; though that fact remains incontrovertible.
Again, that former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar had himself first declared his intention to run for the highest office in the land during a visit to Governor Wike in Government House, Port Harcourt, gives credence to the important position the crude oil and gas rich city occupies in the nation as well as the role WIke played post 2015, which Hon. Adoki aptly captured in his narrative that the Governor deserves special recognition.
In the main, now that the political scene is gathering momentum for the 2019 general elections with the lifting of the ban on campaigns, Governor Wike had on Friday, December 14 this year declared for the umpteenth time that any attempt to rig the forth-coming elections in the state will be met with stiff resistance.
He also declared that aside negative assurances that there will be the rigging option, APC Rivers State would not have attempted to field candidates for the 2019 general election.
Wike, who spoke during a chat with newsmen at the Government House, Port Harcourt, warned that it is incumbent on the security agencies and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to be impartial.
The Governor said: “We want free and fair elections. We are therefore prepared to resist rigging. This is a solemn responsibility. Just take that as a bank draft. The only way forward is for the votes of the people to count. It is important that the security agencies must not only be seen to be neutral, they must be neutral”.
”If not for the expectation to rig, there is no way that the APC will contemplate sponsoring candidates in Rivers State. All the hope they have is in rigging through the security forces. If they attempt to rig, there will certainly be resistance.
Wike further said that he is certain of a second term because his projects are scattered across the state and he has governed in line with his social contract with Rivers people.
“When you put all our projects together, everybody is satisfied that we have done well enough to merit a second term. The projects that earned me the title Mr. Projects speak for themselves.
”The Vice President, who conferred that name on me went beyond politics because of what he saw on the ground. There is no local government area where we do not have projects. We made promises and we have fulfilled those promises”, he said.
He further said that APC Federal Government has no meaningful projects on the ground in Rivers State, pointing out that the International Departure Terminal commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari recently was over 79 per cent completed by the Goodluck Jonathan administration, while funding was set aside through a loan.
”The good thing that will happen in 2019 is for the PDP to win the elections. No Nigerian who wants to better his life will want the APC to win”, he said.
Governor Wike said that he is still speechless that President Muhammadu Buhari refused to sign the amended Electoral bill presented to him by the National Assembly aimed at strengthening the democratic process.
On security, the Governor expressed happiness that the vice has reduced fundamentally across the state, saying the killing of notorious cultist, Don Waney and the signing of Anti-kidnapping and Anti-Cultism laws have helped in ensuring that criminals are checked.
The Spokesman of the State Police Command, Nnamdi Omoni, had corroborated the above assertion by Governor Wike very recently when he declared that Rivers State is peaceful.
Recall that a group, ‘Niger Delta Watch 2019’ had claimed that of the 44 cases of kidnapping recorded in Nigeria within the last one month, 22 occurred in the state. The said report entitled ‘Kidnap Monitoring Registry’ which said its findings indicated that Rivers has one of the highest incident of kidnappings in the country, adding that 18 of the abduction cases had occurred in seven local government areas of the state.
But Omoni, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) faulted the report, saying “They (the authors) are just impotent alarm raised by people and that cannot see the light of the day. We in the Command under the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zaki Ahmed, are on top of the game.
“We will continue to raise the bar and do our best to ensure that the state is safe especially with the yuletide around the corner and beyond the season. As a command, we are doing our best to contain these boys (criminals). We are arresting and prosecuting them and we believe that in no time we will overrun them,” he stated.
The state police image maker further said that night life and business activities in the state have increased as compared to the past. He said that those are indications that Rivers State is safe contrary to speculations that it is not, though there were some security challenges.
“Rivers State is safe. As far as we (Police) are concerned, there is night life in Rivers State. People go about their social activities at night unmolested,” DSP Omoni declared.
Commenting on the crisis in Rivers APC, Governor Wike said that though it is not his business, it is obvious that it a fallout of the impunity perpetrated by the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, saying that whatever the outcome, the PDP in the state will emerge victorious as it has effectively used the mandate given to the party by Rivers people.
Dennis Naku
In a statement issued on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Obiora Ifoh, the party said it had taken note of Mr Obi’s defection alongside some of his supporters, as well as what it called a “lacklustre speech” delivered by the former Anambra State governor at the defection event.
“We wondered what new he intends to sell to Nigerians,” the party said, adding that it was not surprised by the move, having “since September 2024, parted ways with Peter Obi and some of his blind supporters in the National Assembly.”
According to the statement, the faction said it had patiently awaited Mr Obi’s exit, describing it as a blessing.
“The party is finally liberated by this defection and as party leaders, we count it as a blessing,” the party said.
The faction further disclosed that it had previously urged Mr Obi and his supporters to leave if they were unable to work with the party leadership.
It claimed that several lawmakers had been suspended for anti-party activities and that similar action would have been taken against Mr Obi but for the intervention of “some well-meaning Nigerians.”
It also blamed its internal crisis on Mr Obi and Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, accusing them of sponsoring what it described as an insurrection against the Julius Abure-led leadership.
“The crisis we had in the Labour Party was caused by Peter Obi and the Abia State governor, Alex Otti,” the statement alleged, adding that it was surprising Dr Otti had not followed Mr Obi out of the party despite his suspension.
Reacting to Mr Obi’s defection event in Enugu, the faction claimed the gathering was largely boycotted by prominent political and traditional institutions in the South East, insisting that those present were “political spent forces who cannot win in their wards should there be an election today.”
It warned that this development signalled the failure of any future Mr Obi presidential or vice-presidential ambition, claiming he had “clearly lost the charm that had endeared him to the people prior to 2023.”
The faction also accused Mr Obi of misleading the South East during the 2023 elections, alleging that the region suffers political marginalisation under President Bola Tinubu’s administration as a result.
“He must be told that the South East lost out completely in President Ahmed Tinubu’s government because they trusted and believed in him in 2023,” the statement said, alleging disparities in ministerial appointments and infrastructure allocation to the zone.
The Abure-Led LP apologised to Nigerians for its decision in the last election.
“We gave Nigerians a candidate we thought was good for the nation in 2023, but time has since proved that we made the greatest political mistake. We plead for forgiveness from Nigerians,” the party said.
It urged Nigerians to watch out for a rebranded Labour Party, promising to present “the best prospect” capable of returning Nigeria to what it described as its “glorious days.”
steadily toward unity, justice, and shared prosperity”, he said.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday at his country home in Ikere-Ekiti, Dr Oluyede said the development came as a shock, stressing that INEC supervised and monitored the PDP governorship primary that produced him as the party’s candidate.
According to him, INEC officials documented the process, completed all required forms, and even affirmed his candidacy in court through sworn affidavits arising from cases linked to the primary election.
He maintained that no court order or injunction currently restrains INEC from listing his name as the PDP candidate, arguing that the electoral body lacks the constitutional power to determine who emerges as a party’s nominee.
Dr Oluyede described such decisions as the exclusive responsibility of political parties, not the electoral umpire.
While playing down panic over the released list, Dr Oluyede noted that electoral processes often involve reviews and corrections.
He disclosed that he had commenced wide consultations, including engagements with PDP leadership and formal correspondence with INEC, to seek clarification on the omission and determine the next line of action.
The PDP candidate assured his supporters across Ekiti State that he would appear on the ballot, expressing confidence that the situation would be resolved in his favour.
He described attempts to exclude candidates from elections as dangerous and undemocratic, warning that such tactics undermine the people’s right to freely choose their leaders.
Dr Oluyede called on the people of Ekiti to reject any form of disenfranchisement, insisting that elections should be contests of ideas, records, and acceptance by the electorate rather than exclusionary maneuvers.
He also declared that the PDP in Ekiti had resolved its past internal crises and was now united, focused, and ready to win the forthcoming governorship election.
He urged party members and supporters to remain calm and focused, expressing optimism that, with divine grace and the will of the people, the PDP would emerge victorious at the polls.
Mr Obi spoke while formally declaring for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) at a well-attended event in Enugu on Wednesday, where he outlined what he described as a fresh roadmap for rescuing the country from its socio-economic challenges.
Addressing party members, supporters and other stakeholders, the former governor stressed that leadership must be driven by integrity and accountability, warning against the culture of double standards in public office.
“We cannot continue to deceive our people. Leadership is about telling the truth and leading by example. You cannot promise one thing in public and do another in private. That is not leadership, and that is not the change Nigeria needs”, Mr Obi said.
He maintained that genuine national rebirth would only be possible if entrenched wrongs were corrected, adding that governance must be guided by competence, discipline and a clear sense of purpose.
Mr Obi also underscored the need for fresh thinking in the nation’s political space, urging political actors to move away from recycled ideas that have failed to deliver sustainable development.
“We must come with new ideas,” he said, adding that “Nigeria’s problems are not mysterious; what has been lacking is the courage and competence to address them differently. We need a new approach that puts people first and focuses on production, not consumption.”
Calling for a broad based political collaboration, Mr Obi appealed to parties and stakeholders across ideological divides to work together in the national interest.
“This country is bigger than any party or individual. All parties must come together to change the present trend. What matters is not the platform, but the future of Nigeria and the wellbeing of its citizens”, he declared.
Looking ahead to the 2027 general elections, Mr Obi challenged aspirants seeking elective offices to ensure transparency in their credentials, warning that the era of falsified certificates was drawing to a close.
“Anyone contesting for any position in 2027 must come with genuine certificates. All the machinery is now in place to verify what is genuine and what is not. Integrity must start from the very foundation of leadership”, he stated.
Drawing lessons from international development models, Mr Obi cited Rwanda and Indonesia as examples of countries that rose from difficult beginnings to become thriving economies through disciplined leadership and sound policies.
“These countries were once behind us,” he noted, adding that “Today, they are moving ahead because they chose competent leadership, clear vision and policies that support local production and human capital development.”
He also criticised the economic policies of the present administration, particularly the continued importation of food items that can be produced locally, describing such practices as inimical to national development.
“You cannot grow an economy by killing local production. Importing food that we can produce in Nigeria destroys jobs, weakens our farmers and drains our foreign exchange. A serious country must produce what it consumes”, he argued.
The event featured renewed calls from ADC supporters for sustained engagement and mobilisation, as Mr Obi reiterated his belief that Nigeria remains redeemable if led with honesty, competence and a commitment to shared national progress.
In his remarks, the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, expressed confidence in the emerging coalition, assuring Nigerians that the party would deliver good governance at all levels of administration if entrusted with power.
The gathering also witnessed the defection of several prominent politicians from different political parties across the South-East and beyond.
The motion endorsing the defection was moved by a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, and seconded by former economic adviser to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Osita Ogbu.
Goodwill messages from notable political figures, including Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Mrs. Aisha Yesufu, Chief Sam Egwu, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Chief Achike Udenwa, Mr Onyema Ugochukwu and Senator Gilbert Nnaji among others, further underscored the growing momentum within the ADC.
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