Chief Tony Okocha, at the helm of the Caretaker Committee for APC in Rivers State, set the record straight, debunking the assertions of certain party members who claimed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has indirectly transferred the reins of the APC structure to Nyesom Wike, the Minister of Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking on a live radio program in Port Harcourt on Monday, Chief Tony Okocha disclosed that those hinting at such notions were merely skirting the truth.
As a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Wike, according to the former Chief of Staff at the Government House, has not signalled any intention to depart from the party he played a pivotal role in sustaining when others opted to let it wither away.
‘If you are talking about an alliance, I aligned with Nyesom Wike and I am still aligning with him. The issue of handing over the party to Nyesom Wike; he is not a member of the APC for crying out loud and everybody knows that he is a staunch founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).’
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‘He has boasted times without number that he has benefited a lot from the PDP and that he was not in a hurry to leave the party. I am not aware; he hasn’t mentioned it to me and he has not mentioned it to anybody.’
‘Of course, he is not a man that will hide a decision like that from Nigerians. If Wike wishes at any time to enter any other political party different from the PDP, Nigerians will hear; Nigerians will know.’
‘So, as we speak, he is a staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party. For anybody to assume that the President is handing over APC structure to a PDP member, that person will be missing the point.’
Chief Tony Okocha, the representative of Rivers State on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), lauded the national leadership of the party for their commendable efforts.
‘I am not alone in the business. Like I assured the national chairman, I don’t know how it happened, but I commended their wisdom in assembling eggheads and people who have been in party politics for a long time, builders, people who are worried, people who are agitated, people who want the party, APC to grow from strength to strength.’
‘That is what they assembled and fortunately, I am the chairman of that group. I think with the experience we have garnered over time, we will put all of these together; put them in one straight jacket and the party will move.’