Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has hosted three Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to a strategic meeting today in Rivers State.
Governors of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Ondo State Rotimi Akeredolu and Ekiti State Kayode Fayemi held a closed-door door meeting with Governor Wike.
Feelers in the APC said during the meeting, the APC governors impressed it on Wike to join force with the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ahead of the forthcoming presidential election.
An internal source knowledgeable of the meeting said the governors are planning to capitalise on the crisis in the opposition party to seek the support of Wike for the forthcoming presidential poll.
The New Diplomat had reported that the PDP has continued to witness internal crisis fuelled by the emergence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the party, as well as his failure to tap Wike as his running mate in the aftermath.
Wike who contested the PDP primary election, fell short of clinching the ticket. Later on, the crisis hit the rooftop as Atiku ignored the Rivers State governor to choose Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state, rejecting the recommendation of an ad hoc committee of the party, who had favoured Wike.
The source said the APC governors are planning to use the crisis in the PDP to woo Wike to their side, in hope of boosting the chance of the ruling party and Tinubu in the next presidential election.
The New Diplomat had earlier reported that in recent times, Wike has been wearing a yoruba cap at public functions.
Many commentators had suggested that the dressing might be a sign of things to come, with some hinting that the Governor might be eyeing a move to the APC to support its presidential candidate Tinubu, who is currently away in Paris, France.
Though both the Tinubu and Wike’s camps have refuted claims of their purported meeting outside of Nigeria’s shore in France, it thus appears that the duo would continue to hug the news headlines over their political romance ahead of 2023 polls until the last is heard.