Wike didn’t contribute to APC’s growth in Rivers – Party leaders

Former governor Nyesom Wike has been given little credit for the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) meteoric rise to power in Rivers State, according to APC party leaders.

Speaking on behalf of the party’s leaders, Darlington Nwauju, the APC’s publicity secretary in Rivers State, said on national television that many dedicated party members, many of whom were killed during the party’s establishment and growth in the state.

Nwauju argued that it was unjust to honor the man who was at the helm of party operations when the state chapter was under heavy attack.

He claims that the APC’s membership and support have grown steadily and naturally since the party’s founding in 2015.

He claimed that APC leaders in the state who felt the need to clarify the situation insisted that their party had gained more votes in the 2019 elections than it had in 2015, when Wike was governor on the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) ticket.

He emphasized APC’s organic, internal growth and how, thanks to the work of party technocrats in the state, it eventually overtook PDP’s advantage from 2015.

Since the presidential assault on Rivers APC in 2015, we have seen sustained growth.

With our 23.8% increase from 2015-2019, we were able to make up most of the ground lost in the landslide presidential election of 2015.

There were then an extra 80,881 votes cast for the APC in Rivers State during the 2023 presidential election.

“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?”

The group also questioned the 1,487,075 votes he carried for the PDP in 2015 out of a total of 2,537,590 registered voters in Rivers, asking people singing Wike’s song that he assisted Rivers APC where those votes were.

They also questioned the legitimacy of the 472,971 votes that Wike received for PDP out of a total of 3,215,273 registered voters in Rivers State during the 2019 presidential election.

Can an outsider who claims to have aided the national party in his state with only 80,881 votes seize control of the party in the face of inconclusive evidence?

Wike and his paid haters have gotten their political dynasty into a terrible mess.

Wike’s defeat in the polls in both his polling unit and ward indicate that he was not actively working for the APC.

After realizing his political career was over, he joined the APC “to have a safe haven from which to rob” the party in Rivers State.

Nwauju clarified further that the 82,000 vote gap between APC’s 2015 and 2019 performances. Eighty thousand votes separate the years 2019 and 2023.

None of his purported PDP associates were employed by us. Some of them voted PDP in secret while others voted Labour Party at their polling places.

They said that by working hard in these ways, the APC would be able to seize full control of the state by 2027.

The party officials were certain that President Bola Tinubu’s capable leadership, along with the contributions of party technocrats in Rivers, will propel the country forward.