* When he said he will deliver Rivers for APC, I started wondering how he will do it
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Governor of Jigawa state, Abubakar Badaru, has applauded his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike for sabotaging his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the last presidential election.
Ironically, Wike had recently approached the judiciary in a pre-emptive move to stop his expulsion from the party for anti-party activities.
Wike had asked the Abuja division of the Federal High Court to stop the PDP from suspending or expelling him in a suit in which PDP, its National Executive Committee, National Working Committee (NWC), National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were named as respondents.
The Rivers governor, in the suit prayed the court to declare that none of the respondents could take any disciplinary action against him, while the originating summons were being decided.
Wike led the G5 Governors that also had Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Samuel Ortom (Benue) in a campaign against their party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
But stressing that he first doubted Wike when he promised to deliver his state for the All Progressive Congress (APC), in the oresidential election, Badaru , who was speaking at the recent reception held for president-elect, Bola Tinubu, in Rivers, noted that the doubts arose because the APC had never had 25 per cent in any election in Rivers state.
“When he said he would deliver Rivers State to APC, I started wondering how. APC has never met 25 per cent in Rivers. How can this man pull this magic?,” Badaru asked.
However, after a while, he stated that the possibility was becoming clearer but that the fear was that Wike would not injure himself in the process of trying to win the state for the ruling party.
He added that although the APC and its members are good at managing elections, Wike had taken it to a whole new level and had beaten the previous record set by the party. “We thank you most sincerely for keeping to your word and for giving us that victory,” Badaru stated.
He pointed out that the governor assured them that this would be possible in his state for the first time in its history, adding that during all the campaigns and the activities of the pre-elections, Wike stood by the APC and kept on convincing its members of victory at the polls.
”I will like to thank most sincerely, Governor Nyesom Wike on behalf of our father, President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I will like to thank him for doing so many things. For giving us the encouragement to start this movement. And then secondly, we thank you for sabotaging and creating trouble for the other faction (PDP.) Three , helping us and encouraging us always.
“And the most important one, for keeping to his promise. He’s a gentleman to the core and believe me, he’s a man of courage. When he said he will deliver Rivers State for APC, I started wondering how he will do it, “ he noted.
