Leaders of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, have faulted the nomination of former Governor Nyesom Wike for the ministerial slot from the state.
The party leaders argue that the former governor wasn’t responsible for the impressive growth of the party in the state.
This was contained in a statement signed by the State Publicly Secretary of the APC, Darlington Nwajulu on behalf of other party leaders and released to newsmen in Abuja, on Thursday.
They party leaders insisted that the party’s growth had been organically steady since 2015 that the party came into being.
According to them, it was important to set the records straight because the nominee who was the Governor of the state on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party who was responsible for the surpression of APC votes of 2015 during the 2019 elections.
They stressed that APC experienced natural, internal growth over time, and because of the efforts of party technocrats in the state, it narrowed and eventually surpassed the lead that PDP had since 2015.
The statement read in part, ‘Our growth patterns have been consistent since the 2015 presidential onslaught against Rivers APC.
”Our growth from 2015 to 2019 was 23.8 per cent, closing the huge gap of 2015 presidential election.
“Then the 2023 presidential election came in with additional 80,881 votes in favour of APC in Rivers State.
“The question is, where is the helping hand of former Gov Wike, can he claim to have helped Rivers APC with
only 80,881 votes, when our growth showed organic growth since 2019?”
They wondered where those “singing Wike’s song” that he helped Rivers APC, that where when he “carried” the 1,487,075 votes in favour of PDP out of the 2,537,590 registered voters in Rivers, in 2015.
They equally wondered how the 472,971 votes Wike got for PDP in 2019 presidential election out of the 3,215,273
registered voters in Rivers State helped APC’s cause.
The statement further read, ”Can a non partyman takeover a national ruling party in a state, simply because they claim to have helped the national party in his state with just 80,881 votes when such claims couldn’t be substantiated with empirical data?
“Such is the calamitous quagmire Wike, and his sponsored detractors have caused to their political dynasty.
“There is evidence to prove that Wike did not work for APC, Wike lost his polling unit and lost his ward.
“When he found that his political career was gone, he decided to pitch his tent with APC, just to have a comfort zone to rob APC in Rivers State.
They stressed that the difference between APC’s performance in 2015 and 2019 was 82,000 votes. The same difference between 2019 and 2023 is 80,000 votes.
“None of his so called PDP members worked for us. Some secretly for Labour Party and others did for PDP in their respective polling units.
“These efforts are projected to result in the complete takeover of the state by the APC in 2027,” they stressed.
They, however, expressed optimism that President Bola Tinubu being not just a party man but a throughbred politician will carry genuine party leaders along in order to deliver good governance in line with his progressive politics mantra.
