Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has narrated how he tried to make Bola Tinubu leave the All Progressives Congress for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party in 2018.
Wike at a state banquet in honour of the ‘president-elect, Tinubu on Wednesday, said the first time he met Tinubu was in 2018 at his house at Bourdillon Avenue, Ikoyi, Lagos.
Wike, said, “I met him first in 2018 around 2 am in his house -Bourdillon. I was sent to go and talk to him, how he can join us. I went to him, I said sir, I hear you can’t find your feet again in APC. Why not join us and let’s support one of these our candidates to win the 2019 election?
“He asked me. Who are these your candidates, I mentioned them. He said look, if it is these ones you have, I will support (Muhammadu) Buhari 200 times. He told me that. And I respected him.”
Wike, who openly supported Tinubu, a candidate of another party, to win the presidential election, however, said his action and that of his counterparts in the G-5 should not be seen as anti-party.
He said, “We didn’t do anti-party, we supported the unity of Nigeria which is more important than any political party. Those who did anti-party are those who violated against the provision of the constitution of their political party, they did anti-party.”
Wike said since they insisted that they “must obey the constitution of our party, we cannot be held for anti-party”.
He thanked Rivers State people, saying “they saw how this country was going and they joined people saying let things be done right so that we can move as one entity, one body and as a people to do things together and everybody today is happy about that”.
He said though Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Okezie Ikpeazu of Enugu and Abia states respectively were casualties of the struggle after they lost senatorial elections in the 2023 elections, “it doesn’t matter”.
According to Wike, “they believe in the unity of this country and that power should shift to the south. Whether in the course of doing that, they lost elections is immaterial. What is important? In principle, where did they stand? They may not go to Senate but they won.”
“Whenever you see them, they are men,” he added.
Apart from Wike, other members of G-5 Governors are Governor Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Seyi Makinde (Oyo) and Ikpeazu (Abia).
Wike continued, “It doesn’t matter whether some people say how can a governor fail Senate election? No!
“It’s only in Nigeria where I see if opposition wins election, that election was done well. It’s only in Nigeria I have seen that. If as a governor now, I contested Senate and I lose that election, they will that election is free and fair. Why? Because the governor lost.
“But if I won, the governor has done everything. We saw governors who lost election. Bola Tinubu lost Lagos -presidential election, he lost Lagos, is it not correct?
“That election was free and fair in Lagos. Was it not free and fair in Lagos? Why? Because Bola Tinubu lost in Lagos. That is the kind of thing we do. If I lost election in Rivers state, they will say but we said it, his own time is over, how do you think Wike would have won? Now I won, don’t worry, they just manipulated.
“Look at states where governors lost elections, nobody is talking about it. That election was free and fair. Senators lost elections, that election, free and fair.
“As far as I’m concerned, I have no regrets. I will continue to say and I have told the president-elect, the elections have come and gone. You have finished that battle, the battle you have now is governance. What Nigerians want is good governance. If we want good governance, then we must rally round the president-elect.”
He said the support should start from the leadership of the 10th National Assembly.