Rivers Crisis: Old Videos of Wike Berating the APC Trend Online

In the heat of the ongoing crisis between the camps of the incumbent Rivers state governor, Siminalaye Fubara and his successor, Nyesom Wike, several videos of Wike lampooning the APC has surfaced online.

27 Rivers lawmakers loyal to Wike had defected from the PDP to the APC on suspicions of orders from their godfather. Another faction of the lawmakers loyal to the governor and led by the factional speaker, Ihie Edison had declared the seats of the defected lawmakers vacant.

The crisis rocking the state has led to the demolition of the state House of Assembly complex by the governor.

In one of the videos, which was an excerpt of an interview conducted with Wike by the BBC, he described the APC as a cancer and said he will never join the APC, saying he will never leave the PDP.

In another video, Wike was also seen lambasting political defectors who change parties after winning an election using a different party. In the video, he described defectors as political harlots.

Many online users have described these videos as evidence that Wike is inconsistent in his political stands.

Wike, a staunch PDP member, refused to support his party’s presidential candidate in the last election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, whom he had previously lost to in the primaries. He instead, supported the current Nigerian president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was a candidate of the APC, the then ruling party. PDP was the major opposition party to the APC then and still is now.

Wike Serving as Minister in the APC government

Wike is presently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, under the APC leadership of Tinubu, while still remaining a member of the PDP.

Despite remaining a member of the PDP, his activities and association with the APC shows he is only a shadow member of the PDP.

The recent defection to the APC of 27 PDP lawmakers loyal to him in Rivers shows Wike’s association with the APC transcends mere rhetorics.