Former Rivers State governor and minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has asserted that he remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) despite serving in an All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
He made the declaration in an interview that aired on Wednesday on the Channels Television.
Asked whether he is still a member of the opposition party, he said:
“This is also one thing I found out in Nigeria. Governance is not about party. Party is a vehicle that conveys you. I’m a PDP member up till now. Unrepentable.”
He recalled that the Olusegun Obasanjo/Atiku Abubakar administration appointed the late Chief Bola Ige not just a minister but the Attorney General of the Federation, making him the most senior cabinet member despite being in the opposition.
“Because Obasanjo and Atiku believe that he can contribute in this area,” he said.
Wike said he never hid his intention as a PDP member when he said he would fight for equity, fairness and justice in the last election.
“So what is new now about somebody talking about me serving in APC government? I was in PDP, I supported Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Yes, I did,” he stated.
Asked whether he felt at home in the APC, Wike insisted that he is not a ruling party member but felt comfortable working with President Tinubu.
He said that beyond giving him courage, “Tinubu is a man who means well for this country, looking for people who will support him and get Nigeria to achieve the renewed hope he has given to Nigerians.”
The minister added: “I’m not here to work for a party. I’m here to support the president who has confidence in me to help him deliver renewed hope. And I owe nobody any apology at all.
“I was in PDP, I worked for Ahmed Tinubu to become the president of Nigeria.”
He said he does not regret working for the APC to win Rivers State, thus becoming the only state in the South-South won by the ruling party in the presidential election.
On whether he thinks the PDP might move against him, Wike said: “How can anybody talk of expelling me? A state that brought a governor? A state that brought three senators? A state that produced 32 house of assembly members? A state that produced 11 out of 13 members of house of reps?
“The person that will suspend me is the one that couldn’t produce a governor, that couldn’t produce three senators, that couldn’t produce assembly…look, I have not seen that person, with due respect.
“Nobody will do it. The issue of they will do it does not arise.”
“I want to dare anybody that will say that,” he declared.
Wike said it was out of respect he has for the PDP that he wrote to the PDP national chairman and other stakeholders about President Tinubu’s offer: “They said, accept it, it’s a call to national duty.”
He said that for things to be repaired between him and the main opposition party, the PDP must apologize.
