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Wike rules out switch to APC despite praising party for showing interest in Nigeria’s unity

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The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Monday ruled out a switch to the All Progressives Congress (APC) despite his push for a power shift to the Southern part of the country.

Wike is the arrowhead of the G-5 demanding the resignation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, over the alleged breach of the zoning agreement in the party.

Other members of the group are Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).

The governor had last week commended his APC counterparts in the North over their position on power shift to the South during the party’s presidential primary held in June last year.

Wike, who spoke at the 114th quarterly general meeting of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers in Port Harcourt, however, dismissed the rumours on his planned defection to the ruling party as speculative.

The governor described himself as an unrepentant member of the PDP.

Wike insisted that he would vote for the candidate that could guarantee the country’s unity in Saturday’s presidential election.

He said: “I am not a member of the APC and I will not be. But, they have made me to recognise that they are the heroes of this country.

“Don’t forget that last year, the governors came out to say look, for the unity of this country, presidency should go to the south.

READ ALSO: Buhari’s disregard for Supreme Court order an invitation to anarchy — Wike

“The governors of the APC said the way the country is, they want the unity of this country and therefore, the presidency should go to the south.

“They could have as well said no, it doesn’t matter. As governors, we have the number. We can still say it should remain where it should remain. But they didn’t do that.

“They said the way we are seeing this country we want everybody to be together.

“Let no one say because I have the population, therefore, you will continue to dominate. In dominating you need peace, without peace you cannot govern.

“We are all Nigerians and we want the unity of this country. We want Nigeria to move forward as a united country. Rivers State has always been in support of one Nigeria and we’ll continue to support one Nigeria.

“ But in doing that, we believe in equity, we believe in justice, we believe in fairness. As the governor of this state, I will vote for the unity of this country. I will vote for anything that will unite Nigeria.

“I will not support anything that will divide Nigeria. And that is what necessitated the principle of live and let’s live. If only one person continues to live, things will not be good. It’s not about party, it is about Nigeria. I am a member of Peoples Democratic Party, an unrepentant member, who in fact, built this party when people ran away.”

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