APC masterminds lobby Tinubu to compensate Wike for election hatchet job

Media reports alleged Wike went round collation centres on February 25 to ensure election results were altered to favour Tinubu, but figures on Independent National Electoral Commission IReV portal have since shown it was Obi who actually carried Rivers.

The IReV result has been reported by both local and international media, including the BBC.

Regardless, Amalgamated Bola Tinubu Campaign Council Rivers State, led by Tony Okocha, Rivers APC chieftain and former Chief of Staff to the State Government, insisted Wike should be rewarded with a Tinubu job because of the “enormous” role he played in delivering Rivers to the President.

Okocha, who spoke in Abuja, urged the public to disregard the “cheap political stunt” by Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate Magnus Abe to “suddenly take the front seat on Tinubu’s political veranda,” after he left the APC at a time he was most needed.

He attributed Tinubu’s victory in Rivers to the effort of Wike, who he said kept the APC together when major stakeholders of the party in the state turned their backs.

“When [Rotimi] Ameachi had left, Magnus had left, what remained was the little I could control with an amalgamation of support groups.,” Okocha said.

“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 [the Muhammadu] Buhari Campaign in 2015, in 2019 Wike had become governor, it [the situation] became even worse.

“In 2015, APC scored 7 per cent, in 2019 we scored 5 per cent. 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 G5 Governors said until things are made right, until power shifts to the South and that until Ayu resigned 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?”