Connect with us

Politics

Ministerial Appointment: Disquiet In APC Over Wike, Tinubu Romance

Published

on

There is disquiet in the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, over the somewhat strange romance between the Governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike and the party’s hierarchy, especially the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.

The development is causing upset among the APC members ahead of the inauguration of Tinubu as President and his formation of cabinet within six months.

Advertisement

Against his own political party, the Peoples Democratic Party, the Governor is believed to have worked for the national ruling party during the 2023 presidential election.

And this has intensified the rumours that it is just a matter of time before the governor joins the ruling party.

Wike was once the most loyal and influential leader in the PDP prior to the May 2022 presidential primary election of the party.

Advertisement

Nigerians will not forget in a haste how the Governor had during voting at the convention held at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, vowed to commit to the party.

READ ALSO: Wike: What I Means By ‘I Owe You Nothing Statement,’ – Tinubu

He said then: “I vow today that anybody who emerges here, I will support the person to the fullest because I am a committed party person. Since 1998, I have been at this party and I am not going anywhere.”

Advertisement

However, the Governor entered into a long battle with the national body of the PDP and the elected presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar immediately after the primary, dragging four other governors along with him to form what was later known as the G5.

He has taken it further after the polls, with his recent invitation of Tinubu to commission projects in the oil-rich State.

However, a former governor of the State, Chibuike Amaechi, who came second during the party’s presidential election in June 2022, has been conspicuously absent in as many occasions that Tinubu has visited Rivers State, either as a presidential candidate or as the President-elect.

Advertisement

Wike was one of the politicians who wondered what good works President Buhari had done that presidential aspirants such as Bola Tinubu would base their campaigns on.

Wike had said that Nigerians were under the yoke of APC maladministration with an intractable insecurity situation that has crippled the economy and increased hunger.

READ ALSO: Wike: What I Means By ‘I Owe You Nothing Statement,’ – Tinubu

Advertisement

He said then: “It is most unfortunate when I hear people declaring [intention to be president] under APC and saying they want to continue the good job of Mr President – the good job of people dying every day, the good job of naira falling every day.

“I feel so ashamed that we have got to the level of sycophancy where people will come and say I want to continue the good job of Buhari. What is the good job of Buhari – hunger, poverty, insecurity, economy falling?

“I can’t believe that somebody will come out in today’s Nigeria and say I want to continue where Mr. Buhari has stopped. May God never allow that evil to continue.”

Advertisement

But all that posture changed during the presidential election.

Apart from being accused of rigging the presidential election in favour of the APC candidate, Wike has in words and actions shown that he was solidly behind Tinubu, before, during and after the elections.

Members of the APC in the State see Wike’s actions as a scheme to be appointed minister upon the end of his tenure on May 29.

Advertisement

Tinubu, during his recent visit to Rivers State, hailed the governor for working for his emergence, especially by weakening the PDP.

READ ALSO: Why I Can’t Refund Wike On Flyover — Tinubu

Prior to the PDP’s primary election, the governor, who claimed to be working for Southern presidency blocked the PDP from zoning the presidency because he realised that the South East would get the cut if the ticket was micro-zoned.

Advertisement

Speaking to DAILY POST on these developments, a former Spokesman for the defunct new Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and chieftain of the APC in the South South, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze said, “Gov. Wike though a friend is a very confused and drowning fellow looking for whatever he can hold to survive but the future will surely determine his fate.

“Anybody worrying himself or herself about Wike and his type of politics probably has no serious task to do, so I wouldn’t like to waste my precious time to talk about a drowning man.

“Nigerians and the entire world are fully aware of the stand of Wike about both Buhari, Tinubu and APC, so if they feel after all that Amaechi sacrificed to build APC that Wike is their new Saviour, I wish them the best of luck. God will surely judge all our actions no matter the odds.”

Advertisement

On the fate of Amaechi if Wike decides to decamp to APC, Eze said, “Both I and Amaechi and other members of his political family have passed the level of attaching our fate to that of any human being. It will be an insult to us and our God for Wike and his drowning collaborators to determine our political fate. They don’t have such powers.

“For your information, Wike at the moment is not a member of any political party. They are aware that they are politically orphans though he is shameless and if he feels like joining APC, I wish him the best of luck.

“I must confess that I am enjoying the trends of events as it is helping us to know how characterless some of our so-called leaders are but let us not despair as God is working out something great for this country.”

Advertisement

Speaking on Wike’s denial of working for Tinubu and insisting all he wanted was Southern presidency, the party chieftain added, “You are forcing me to give Wike the attention that he doesn’t deserve.

READ ALSO: Why I Named Magistrates Court Complex Block After My Wife – Wike

“Wike is the most selfish Nigerian politician you can think of in this dispensation. He has not the interest of anybody or region at heart.

Advertisement

“Everything is all about himself. He frustrated Obi out of PDP with hope of becoming the landlord of PDP but Atiku proved him wrong and reduced him to the wailing fellow he has become.

“Tinubu knew that Wike never worked for him; he will be highly disappointed as Tinubu and his camp are already plotting on how to do away with his nuisance scheme.”

On the question on why Amaechi has been silent in the face of what many people would see as being sidelined by his political party, Eze said, “What exactly do you want Amaechi to say about what is happening with Tinubu, APC and Wike?

Advertisement

“I have advised myself to keep quiet and watch this romance all aimed at undermining Amaechi. At the appropriate time, I will expose to Nigerians when this evil plot was hatched and how it will be concluded.

“From the little I know about Amaechi and his type of politics, he has never had any plan of his own. God is the one that plans for him, so when God wants him to act, he will act accordingly and Nigeria and Nigerians will know that you can’t, no matter the odds, undermine God’s anointed one. In vain they gather as their gathering can never be sanctioned by God.

“I appeal to us all to exercise patience as we will soon address some of the issues agitating the minds of Nigerians and the future of Amaechi and his political family.”

Advertisement

Politics

APC Defeats NNPP In Kano Re-run Election

Published

on

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has defeated the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) in the Ghari/Tsanyawa supplementary re-run election in Kano State.

Announcing the result on Sunday, the Returning Officer, Prof. Muhammad Waziri of Bayero University, declared APC’s Garba Gwarmai winner with 31,472 votes, ahead of NNPP’s Yusuf Maigado, who polled 27,931 votes.

Advertisement

The supplementary election was conducted after the initial poll was declared inconclusive.

READ ALSO:By-election: INEC Staff, Politician Caught With Huge Cash In Ogun [VIDEO]

Hon. Gwarmai’s 3,541-vote lead marks a significant victory for the APC, further consolidating its political foothold in the state.

Advertisement

According to Tribune Online, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Kano State Chapter, had expressed concerns over alleged irregularities in the rerun elections for Ghari/Takai and Bagwai/Shanono Constituencies.

 

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Politics

Obi Blames Tinubu For 70% Investment Crash

Published

on

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of presiding over what he described as “a collapse in foreign direct investment.”

He blamed what he called “poor leadership, weak governance, and uncoordinated reforms” for the country’s economic woes.

Advertisement

Obi, in a statement shared on official X (formerly Twitter) handle on Friday, noted that going by fresh figures from the National Bureau of Statistics, FDI into Nigeria plunged by about 70 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, falling to $126.29m from $421.8m recorded in the last quarter of 2024.

While the President, ministers, and other government officials continue their global galivanting in search of FDI, our poor performance in key governance indicators – such as rule of law, regulatory quality, government effectiveness, and voice and accountability – continues to prove that you cannot attract sustainable foreign investment with poor leadership and governance,” Obi wrote.

READ ALSO:Jonathan, Obi Can’t Match APC’s Strength For 2027 – Mustapha Salihu

Advertisement

While noting that the country’s investment inflows were largely speculative, Obi said, “Of the total capital importation of about $5.64 bn in Q1 2025, FDI accounted for only about 2.24 per cent, compared to 8.2 per cent in Q4 2024.

“Disturbingly, about 90 per cent of the imported capital went into speculative money market instruments, with negligible impact on industrial growth or job creation, given the ease with which such ‘hot money’ can exit the economy.”

He argued the sharp drop in manufacturing inflows further underscored the lack of investor confidence in the country.

Advertisement

Capital flows to the manufacturing sector declined by 32.1 per cent, falling to only $129.92 million in Q1 2025 from $191.92 million in the same quarter of 2023. There is no better confirmation of the lack of trust in this government, whose reforms remain uncoordinated and largely reactive,” he said.

READ ALSO:One Dead, Five Injured In Kogi Road Crash

The former Anambra State governor further compared the country’s performance with other African nations that recorded major gains.

Advertisement

In 2024, while global FDI flows declined, Africa’s FDI rose by about 75 per cent to $97 billion,” he stated.

Egypt alone attracted $46.58 billion. Ethiopia received $3.98 billion, Côte d’Ivoire $3.80 billion, Mozambique $3.55 billion, Uganda $3.30 billion, DR Congo $3.11 billion, South Africa $2.47 billion, Namibia $2.06 billion, Senegal $2.02 billion, Guinea $1.83 billion, and Morocco $1.64 billion.”

According to him, Nigeria has been left trailing far behind.

Advertisement

READ ALSO:Presidency In Nigeria Should Be Five-year Single Tenure — Peter Obi

Most disappointingly, our dear nation, the so-called ‘Giant of Africa,’ received only $1.08 billion – about one per cent of Africa’s total FDI – representing a decline of about 42 per cent from 2023. Worse still, after that 42 per cent drop between 2023 and 2024, FDI to Nigeria has further declined by 75 per cent between Q4 2024 and Q1 2025,” Obi lamented.

He warned that unless Nigeria fixed its governance problems, it would continue to lose investment to more stable African economies.

Advertisement

We cannot achieve sustainable growth and development with ineffective leadership and a weak government,” he said.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Politics

By-election: Edo Deputy Gov Lauds Credible Process, Encourages Voters

Published

on

Edo State Deputy Governor, Dennis Idahosa, on Saturday commended the impressive turnout of voters in the ongoing by-election for the Ovia Federal Constituency seat in the House of Representatives.

Idahosa gave the commendation after casting his ballot at Unit 3, Old Education Board, Iguobazuwa West Ward, Ovia South-West Local Government Area.

Advertisement

He described the process as seamless, peaceful, and encouraging.

Edo Deputy Governor, Dennis Idahosa, on the queue at the Ovia Federal Constituency to cast his vote.

READ ALSO:By-election: PDP, APC Exchange Words Over Alleged Plan To Disrupt Poll

Advertisement

“I must commend the people for coming out in large numbers to vote. So far, everything is going well. We are expecting free, fair, and credible elections. Ovia people will be happy with the outcome. I am calling on more voters to come out and perform their civic duties.

“I just voted and I am going home while I wait for the result,” he said.

Meanwhile, at Okada West Ward Units 1, 4, and 6, voters were seen in long queues waiting to cast their ballots.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Trending