TheCable

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, has denied reports that he plans to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

A one-minute video currently making the rounds online has Wike speaking in an interview, while social media users have posted claims that the Rivers governor is preparing to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

“And then now that I’m going to APC, I’m leaving PDP for APC. See the reasons why I’m leaving PDP to join you. Are you willing to do all these things that PDP didn’t do for me? When I mean for me, I mean for my people. Are you willing to do them?” the Rivers governor says in the viral video .

But reacting to the development in a statement on Wednesday, Kelvin Ebiri, spokesman to the governor, described the video as “manipulated”.

“Our attention has been drawn to a manipulated video circulating on social media, purporting that the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, intends to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),” the statement reads.

“It will be recalled that in June 2021, Governor Wike was interviewed on Arise Television, following the defection of Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi, from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

“During the interview, Governor Wike, while reacting to reason given by Ebonyi State governor for his defection, dismissed it as untenable. The excerpt of the interview in circulation has been deliberately manipulated by some desperate and unscrupulous persons with obnoxious agenda.

“The intent of the video being circulated is to mislead the unsuspecting public, particularly members of the PDP. We, hereby, urge the public to disregard the manipulated video.

“Governor Wike has repeatedly maintained that he will never under any circumstances defect from the PDP, which has offered him the platform to excel in his political career.

“We urge the public to ignore the distorted video. Those behind it are desperately wicked and intend to mislead the public. Governor Wike remains a faithful, committed member of the PDP and will never leave it for cancerous APC.”

Meanwhile. checks by TheCable showed that the video is an excerpt from an interview which featured Wike on the ARISE TV’s ‘The Morning Show’ on July 1, 2021.

Bello Matawalle, governor of Zamfara, had defected from the PDP to the APC hours before the interview.

Speaking on the recent defections of Matawalle, as well as that of Ben Ayade and Dave Umahi — governors of Cross River and Ebonyi, respectively — Wike had said the reasons given by those who left were not strong enough.

Asked during the interview if the PDP will take a decision in terms of zoning the presidential ticket, the Rivers governor had said he expected better from the Ebonyi governor on the latter’s reasons for leaving the PDP.

Wike, who was citing an example on what he expected from people like Umahi, said: “If the person says that he left the party because of zoning, where has the APC where he went to zoned it now? If APC had zoned it to the south-east or to the south, then that reason is tenable. But in this case, you said ‘I have not zoned’.

“Assuming it is right, but not conceding to it, now, you are moving to B and B has not come out to say ‘we have zoned to this’. So, what is the reason? Can you say such a reason, if ever, can be justified? Certainly not. That is not the reason….

“I have told everybody who cares. What makes you a man is to be able to tell your people the simple truth — ‘I’m leaving the PDP today to APC because one, PDP has not done anything for the south-south; PDP has not done anything for Rivers. PDP has not done this for my people. And I will catalogue them. And then now that I’m going to APC….

“For me, as the governor of Ebonyi state, I will call my three senators, members of the house of representatives, I’ll call my assembly. ‘Listen. Justify. These people say they will give us. See what they said.'”