ANALYSIS: Showdown imminent in Rivers APC as Wike, Cole, Abe battle for ministerial slot

The rank of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress {APC} may further be polarised with the Tuesday call by some stakeholders of the party in the state that the ministerial slot of the state be given to former Governor Nyesom Wike.

The stakeholders, speaking under the aegis of Amalgamated Bola Tinubu Campaign Council Rivers State, hinged their call on the ‘enormous’ roles played by Wike which ensured Tinubu’s sustained victory in the state, during the February 25 presidential election.

Led by Chief Tony Okocha, a former Chief of Staff in the state, the group attributed the victory of the APC in the state to the effort of Wike, adding that he played the role of keeping the party together when major stakeholders of the party turned their backs.

Okocha, who addressed a press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, said: “When Ameachi had left, Magnus had left what remained was the little I could control with an amalgamation of support groups. Since 1999, PDP has been in control of Rivers State back to back. Even in 2015, when I was Chief of staff, Ameachi was governor and during that Presidential election, APC scored about 69,000 votes, PDP scored about 2 million votes and we were in charge and he doubled as the DG of Buhari in 2015, in 2019 Wike had become governor, it became even worse.

“In 2015, APC scored 7 percent, in 2019 we scored 5 percent. Then, in 2023 APC is now winning. What was the magic? Wike’s PDP scored 32/32 in the state House of Assembly in Rivers state, Wike’s PDP scored 12/13 of House of Reps seats, Wike’s PDP scored 3/3 of the senatorial seats, Wike’s PDP won the governorship and then Wike’s PDP did not win Presidential election in Rivers state. What happened?

“Is it not the reason that all of us know that the G-5 governors said until things are made right, until power shifts to the south and that until Ayu resigns that they will not work for Atiku. Now, the spin doctor who made sure everything worked out for Tinubu, was Wike.

“We have 6,868 polling units in Rivers State across 319 wards and across 23 LGs and you and I know that every politician has his own polling unit agents that are paid on a stipend or the other. Who paid for the 6,868 agents in Rivers for APC?

“The activities of the G-5 is instrumental to the success of Tinubu in Nigeria politics today. Look at the ratio, APC won 12 states, and PDP won 10 states. Assuming PDP people worked together, they would have taken more states. I am telling you that in our own case, I am saying it categorically, I would have been the one person to say no don’t give it to him because I had the house. He didn’t come to see an empty house. I would have decided to appropriate everything to myself and behave like a crab.

“If you have somebody that is more than you, why don’t you invite the person. If he helped us to win in 2023, are we now going to tell him to come to us in 2027 to help us win? Why don’t we bring him in because he has value to add. No politician in Rivers State today can surmount Wike. No one in Rivers State can challenge Wike. He is the best.

“We are saying that whatever is due us as Rivers State should be handed over to Wike because he knows who worked for Tinubu in Rivers. I would have claimed it all because I was the last man standing when everybody took off but we are saying, look, this man contributed more.”

Okocha’s preference for Wike may however lead to another round of bickering in Rivers APC, as the camp of former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, represented by the governorship candidate of the party, Tonye Cole, will certainly kick against the choice of Wike for the ministerial slot of the state.

Also waiting in the wings is Senator Magnus Abe. Though a known ally of President Tinubu, Abe dumped the APC before the 2023 general elections to pick the governorship ticket of the Social Democratic Party {SDP}.

Abe, however, seems to be waiting to harvest his reported close affinity with President Tinubu to secure a ministerial appointment in his cabinet, as he has lately spoken glowingly about the president.

Aside this, a group, Coalition of Rivers State Leaders of Thoughts, obviously doing Abe’s bidding, recently called on President Tinubu to consider appointing Abe as a minister.

According to the group, the Ogoni people, where Abe hails from, have yet to enjoy a full ministerial appointment since the military era of General Yakubu Gowon.

The Convener and Secretary of the group, Sunnie Chukwumele and Josiah Onoriode, while addressing a press conference in Abuja, claimed that Senator Abe single-handedly built the political structure to promote President Tinubu’s presidential ambitions in the state.

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Chukwumele said: “We want to put it on record that Senator Abe single-handedly built the political structure for the promotion of President Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambition in Rivers State. He was castigated and vilified by the majority of people in the state.

“We believe that appointing Senator Abe, whose profile is intimidating, into President Tinubu’s cabinet will also be a succour to the President’s original believers and followers in Rivers State.”

The group, in a reference to Wike, cautioned the President that the abrupt switch of interest by the out-gone governor of the state in the internal affairs of the APC, showing his regular face at the Presidential Villa since the president’s inauguration, should not unduly influence him as his main ally in the state.

“We have further observed with utter dismay the sudden switch of interest of the former Rivers State Governor in the internal affairs of the APC which he fought against for eight years with his regular face at the Presidential Villa since the assumption of office of President Tinubu. We are afraid these efforts were geared to unduly influence the President by presenting himself as his main ally in Rivers State. Mr. President must be vigilant to watch the antecedence of such people milling around him today.”

It also reminded President Tinubu that he has been a man noted to reward loyalty at all costs, praying that Senator Abe’s position as President’s first and main loyalist in River State should not be swapped or short-changed for another.

Okocha, while taking cognizance of the recent ‘volte-face of Senator Abe, called on the general public to disregard what he described as cheap political stunt by Abe, to suddenly take the front seat in Tinubu’s political veranda, after he left the APC at a time he was most needed.

“Magnus’ media stunts are mere grandstanding and only for benefits. My own satisfaction is that if you marshal out Tinubu’s soldiers today, even people that hate me the most will say I was at the epicenter of Tinubu’s victory in Rivers State, to me, it is enough food. If there are other benefits that will come, it will be secondary but if anybody is coming out with the primary aim of getting an appointment, I will not accept.

“You’re now eulogizing Tinubu, you didn’t know that Tinubu was the best person when you left him for another party. Now, you defeated him in your unit and ward but now that the man has won, you want to eulogize, you want to grandstand, you want to say all manner of good things just for political appointment, it will not work. It is against common sense and reason”.

In a similar move, another group, the National Youth Summit Group is rooting for Tonye Cole to land the ministerial slot for Rivers State.

The group, in a letter addressed to the National Chairman of the APC, Abduallahi Adamu dated June 26, 2023, called on President Tinubu to consider appointing credible technocrats like Cole for ministerial appointments.

The group, in the letter signed by its National Coordinator, Hon. Mgbang Rex David, said it strongly believes that Cole has the capacity and track record to create impact as well as build Nigerian youths.

It said: “Tonye Cole was a co-founder of Sahara Group, a company which he built from nothing and today has a presence in over 40 countries employing thousands of young people.

“Originally an oil company, today it has investments in power, IT, Real Estate and others, which is a clear indication of Cole’s wealth of experience in building wealth and managing people.”

“Take Rivers State for instance, where the party leader, Chibuike Amaechi refused to support Tinubu, however, Tonye Cole managed the big guns and encouraged his huge supporters to vote massively for APC. A move that made Amaechi questioned his loyalty and Wike took advantage of Tonye Cole’s predicament to openly support Tinubu because of Amaechi to take the glory of the real votes harnessed for APC in Rivers State,” the group said.

The National Youth Summit Group further said: “Cole has the biggest grassroots support base in the state called “TeamCOLE” and had already given the party 25% of the total vote cast on February 18th before former Gov. Wike came into the scene. The former business mogul and pastor was arguably the most qualified candidate of any political party in the last election in Nigeria.

“As someone that has built his wealth, grown companies, developed young people and sits on the committees of several international bodies including the world economic forum, Tonye Cole a former candidate of the party who single-handedly sponsored APC in Rivers State during the election deserves to be made a Cabinet Minister.

“In fact, only Tonye Cole can re-engineer APC in Rivers State again to greatness. He is well-loved and believed to be neutral. Most Rivers people see him as a victim of power play between Amaechi and Wike. And does not deserve the treatment currently being melted on him and his huge supporters by his party, after all, he did for APC in the last election.”

What is however glaring in all of these is that the APC in Rivers State, not withstanding where President Tinubu decides to pitch his tent among the three gladiators that are being promoted by their henchmen, will further polarize the party and weaken its support base.

It is also however not certain, if Tinubu will be ready to sacrifice the interest of his party, the APC and handover the ministerial slot of Rivers State to Wike, who has said repeatedly that he has no intention of dumping the PDP for APC.

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