Wike says Rivers lawmakers who defected to APC did not inform him
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says he was not notified by the Rivers State House of Assembly members who recently left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
On Friday, 17 lawmakers—including Speaker Martin Amaewhule—resigned from the PDP and joined the APC. Their defection came just two days after the 32-member Assembly passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Tinubu and urged him to seek re-election.
Speaking in Abuja on Friday during an inspection of an ongoing bridge project, Wike said the legislators were free to join any political party of their choice. He described their exit as “unfortunate”, blaming it on the internal crisis that has gripped the PDP.
“It is unfortunate. I have always said that everybody has the right to make a choice. The party is fully factionalised. And the constitution requires that when a party is factionalised, they are allowed to leave the party,” Wike said.
“They never told me [before they quit PDP], but they have a right.
“You will see that it is not everybody who has left. I believe 16 or 17 of them have left out of 27. We still have a good number, about 10, and we will continue to work together.
“I’m still in the PDP. So, those who have remained, we’ll continue to work together.”
Wike — who was recently banned from the PDP by the Taminu Turaki-led faction — urged the party to urgently resolve its leadership crisis.
“I have said to the party: Put your house in order. Because at the end of the day, if you don’t put your house in order, it is the party that will lose,” he said.
“And we still ask the party to work together to see how the remaining members will be a relevant opposition. But they chose not to.
“So, for me, those who have left are free. But those who remain in the party, we will continue to work together.”
