I Didn’t Discuss ‘Defection’ With Nyesom Wike During Visit To My Office In Abuja-Ganduje

APC National Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, has clarified that he did not discuss matters relating to ‘defection’ with immediate past governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike,  during his visit to  the party’s national secretariat  in Abuja while noting however that he (Wike)  ‘is fully ready to cooperate with the APC’.

Ganduje added that Wike’s presence in the party  will  certainly  enhance its chances  in 2027.

Team@orientactualmags.com learned that the former Kano state governor said this during Simon Bako Lalong’s congratulatory visit to his office on Wednesday.

   Lalong, who is the immediate past governor of Plateau state, had also served as  Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council  that was set  up by the party ahead of the 2023 general election.

‘You know Wike is a honourable Minister- designate so he came, we discussed, because I was looking for him to congratulate him for that. He also came to congratulate me.

We discussed that when he becomes minister fully, he will work very hard in order to move the ministry he is given forward and he is ready to cooperate. But we didn’t discuss the issue of his coming to APC or not. That issue will arise later’ Ganduje said.

While noting that the APC looks forward to having  other political parties  merging with it , he added that Wike and some other notable opposition  members getting  chosen as cabinet members   has shown the  ‘spirit of national unity’ that President Bola Tinubu has  preached.

 ‘Having Wike will certainly improve the chances of this our party, especially in 2027, and not only that we are coming out with a new blueprint to increase the followership of the party and this will include all strata of officials; those who are in APC and those who are in other political parties. I assure you very soon some of the political parties will even merge with the APC. We are doing that underground.

But the spirit of national unity does not mean the spirit of one party in Nigeria. Spirit of national unity means spirit of national competence and spirit of national capacity’ he submitted.

It will be recalled that Wike was among the governors of PDP-controlled states, who refused to campaign for the presidential candidate of their party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar ahead of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023.

Nyesom Wike was  the leader of the PDP governors  popularly called  G-5  governors.

The  G-5  governors  were Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).

Wike ,who  had since gotten nominated as minister by President Tinubu and later had this confirmed by the senate, was named as FCT Minister on Wednesday.

Talking to journalists, Lalong, said he  was at the APC National Secretariat to congratulate Ganduje on his emergence as  new APC national chairman.

 ‘At the time we finished the national caucus and the NEC meeting, I was not around. Now that I am around, I need to formally come and congratulate him (Ganduje) and see what efforts we can do to keep him moving in running the party.

As the national chairman, Ganduje was a governor. As a matter of fact, when we look at his antecedents, we always say he is the longest experienced politician that we have within us. Because he is somebody who was very long in civil service, he became a permanent secretary, a commissioner, longest serving deputy governor, and he later became a governor’ he said-Team@orientactualmags.com
Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980. Thank you.