Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will collapse if he defects to the All Progressive Congress (APC).
Mr Wike stated this during his end-of-the-year media chat in Port Harcourt on Monday, while responding to a question about whether he would join the ruling APC.
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Mr Wike’s supporters in the Rivers State House of Assembly, and Governor Siminalayi Fubara, had recently defected from the PDP to the APC.
The minister, however, insisted that he is still a member of the PDP and is not considering leaving the party.
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“Today, if I say I want to decamp to the APC, that will be the end of the PDP. You will see leaders of the party in other states who will join me.
“If today I say, gentlemen, look, we have had enough of PDP, watch those who will decamp in Benue; watch those who will decamp in Plateau, in Abia, in Edo,” he said.
“But the mere fact that people have left the PDP for the APC does not mean I have to leave. No, it is not correct. I am still a member of PDP,” he said.
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The PDP, during its national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November, expelled Mr Wike and 10 others for alleged anti-party activities.
Speaking on a possible takeover of his political structure in Rivers by Governor Fubara, Mr Wike assured his supporters that his political relevance in the state was incontestable.
He added that he still holds his political structure in the state.
According to him, Mr Fubara’s defection to the APC does not necessarily make him the leader of the party in the state, like the case in Lagos and Kano states.
“There are exceptions to the rule. There is nothing like 001 in the state; you register in your ward and not at the state level.
“So, if there is 001, it is in your ward, because every party member registered in his ward,” he said.
The minister further stated that, beyond being a governor, there must be exceptional qualities that make one a leader worthy of following.
He argued that Mr Fubara’s defection to the APC was of no consequence, stressing that he joined the party alone.
“If a governor is moving to another party, he moves with council chairmen, party leaders and members of the state assembly.
“In his case, the people have already left the PDP and joined the APC on their own; as such, defecting to the APC doesn’t guarantee him an automatic ticket for a second tenure,” Mr Wike said.
(NAN)
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