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Minister list: PDP faces conflict about Wike’s nomination

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President Bola Tinubu’s nomination of former Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike for a ministerial post has not yet been settled.

It is thought that Wike, who had stated before the general election of 2023 that he would never serve as a minister, helped Tiubu defeat Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of his own party.

Along with four other state governors at the time, he played a key role in the creation of the G-5 Integrity Group. Throughout the presidential race, the group sought to undermine the PDP.

It is believed that his appointment as a minister is a prize for such deed.

Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, a prominent member of the APC, expressed this opinion, claiming that Wike’s selection as a minister was “compensation” for his assistance in Tinubu’s win in the 2023 presidential contest.

Ogunlewe remarked, “It’s very simple to understand.” If you have been following the events leading up to the most recent election, you are aware of the part Wike played, and you need to compensate him for it.

Meeting participants from the opposition party, the PDP, reportedly discussed Wike and other post-election issues during their conversation last weekend.

 

But the party is said to be in a dilemma in handling Wike, with some stakeholders warning that his case could further destabilize the party.

This came to the fore as the party recently announced Wike as a member of its Campaign Council for the November governorship election in Bayelsa State.

Commenting on the development, Dirun Odeyemi, a former PDP Deputy National Publicity Secretary, said expelling Wike would not be in the best interest of the party.

Odeyemi noted that expelling Wike would lead to the exodus of some governors from the party.

They know the right thing to do at the right time, even though there is an argument for and against, some people believe that Wike’s acceptance and nomination is not new.

“Another school of thought believes that Wike should resign from the party. It will be very difficult to expel him because there is an adage in Yoruba that says when you beat a mad man you will realise that he has relatives.

“It’s not easy to touch Wike because if you expel him, you will be expelling some PDP governors.

“In PDP now, what we should do is to persuade and resolve all the issues within the party.”

Taking to their Twitter handles, some Nigerians dragged Wike over his appointment as a minister, adding that PDP has lost its relevance.

Find some of the tweets below:

@hateketa: “Wike, Ortom, Ikpeazu, and Ugwuanyi have been included in the Bayelsa campaign council list of the PDP. Something is fundamentally wrong with everybody at Wadata Plaza. And I am happy it is happening.

The PDP has lost its relevance. It has no ideals, discipline or foresight any more. I strongly advise that the party be deregistered by INEC.”

@FirstObidient: “Amaechi was used against Goodluck Jonathan and was made Minister by Buhari. Wike was also used against Peter Obi and has been nominated for a ministerial position under Tinubu, why Rivers dey groom Judas?”

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