Wike, Rivers PDP debunk defection claims by APC

Chairman of the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bro Felix Obuah has described the allegation by the All Progressives Congress (APC), that the state’s Governor-elect, Chief Nyesom Wike plans to defect to the APC as malicious, ‘baseless and a mere wishful thinking of the propagators of such falsehood.’

It would be recalled that the APC, Wednesday alleged that the governor-elect has concluded plans to officially defect to the party from the PDP along with his followers.

Reacting to the allegation, Thursday, through a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Jerry Needam, the PDP chairman said it was unthinkable that the governor-elect, and PDP leader in the state is considering dumping the party for the APC because ’doing so is like preferring hell which the APC represents to paradise.’

“There is no gainsaying the fact that Rivers State is a PDP State as demonstrated in the just concluded general elections and cannot be betrayed by the leader and holder of its mandate who has given all he has to ensure the party is not killed by self-seeking individuals, the bulk of whom make up the membership of the APC in the state.

“Rather than do that the governor-elect, Chief Wike will do all within his power and humanly possible to deliver on his electioneering promises to the people to ensure they are not disappointed and to strengthen their support and belief in the PDP,” said Obuah.

The PDP chieftain therefore, enjoined those peddling the allegation of Wike’s defection to’ join hands with the PDP-led government in reshaping, restoring and rebuilding the state that has been badly damaged by Gov Amaechi’s visionless administration under whom the state economy has hit the lowest ebb as never witnessed before in history.’

“May I also use this opportunity to make it abundantly clear to our APC brother members that there is an ocean of difference between the PDP leadership as presently constituted in Rivers State and ably led by His Excellency, Chief Barr Nyesom Wike, State Governor-elect and the APC.

“We are not as feeble minded and unsteady in character as APC members and will never do what they have done that has only attracted to them an outcast image before the court of public opinion, as doing so will be foolhardy of us.

“We will remain steadfast and focused to our vision of new better Rivers State where the welfare of its people will be adequately taken care of, and opportunities created for growth and development of our abundant human capital in fairness to all and anchored on justice,” the party chieftain stressed.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the Rivers State Governor-elect, Barrister Wike (CON) Thursday, has pledged his commitment to the PDP, in a statement made available to Global Patriot Newspapers, and signed by Mr. Simeon Nwakaudu, his Special Assistant (Media).

Wike, according to the statement, said he ‘is a committed member of the PDP,’ even as he described the allegations of his defection as ‘a figment of their imagination and deliberate falsehood taken to comic proportion.’

“The Rivers State Governor-Elect, Barrister Wike (CON) is a committed member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and has not entered into any negotiation with the APC with the aim of defecting to the party. He got his mandate to lead Rivers State to recovery and redemption on the platform of the PDP and will exercise the mandate on this noble platform.

“If this is the Rivers APC way of acknowledging that Barrister Wike is the most widely accepted leader and politician in Rivers State, we advise them to be more courageous by coming forward to congratulate him and accept his offer for them to join his administration to rebuild Rivers State after years of APC mis-governance, maladministration, impunity and failure.

“We consider this falsehood being spread by the defeated Rivers APC as a disservice to the people of Rivers State. In the last few days, the Rivers APC has embraced a funny pastime of spinning all manners of false tales to remain relevant in the polity after their total rejection by the people of Rivers State,” Wike said.

Concluding, Wike announced that he ‘has set up the transition and inauguration committees comprising respected Rivers leaders’ adding that he ‘will not be distracted by Rivers APC’s comedy.’

The governor-elect, therefore called Rivers people and other Nigerians ‘who have received the latest falsehood from APC to disregard same. ‘