APC dissociates self from Tinubu’s visit to Rivers

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has dissociated itself from the planned visit of Nigeria’s President-Elect, Bola Tinubu to the oil-rich state on Wednesday.

Mr Tinubu who won the 25 February presidential election under the APC platform is paying a two-day visit to the state to commission a flyover and a court building constructed by Governor Wike’s administration.

Mr Wike has declared Wednesday as a public holiday, urging the people of the state to turn out en masse to receive Mr Tinubu.

In a statement on Tuesday, the spokesperson of APC in the state, Darlington Nwauju, described the visit as private and on the invitation of Governor Wike. He added that it has nothing to do with the APC in the state.

“We challenge the Governor being an outgoing governor (Mr Wike) to play less divisive politics and exercise restraint in planting seeds of discord amongst opposition political parties.

“We are aware that the governor has been working so hard to paint a false perception of the collapse of the APC structure in Rivers State even when he had in previous well-documented interviews vowed never to have anything to do with a “cancer party (APC),” Mr Nwauju said.

Mr Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after falling out with his party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, backed Mr Tinubu in the presidential election.

Mr Tinubu during his presidential campaign rally in Rivers State paid a visit to Mr Wike in Government House in Port Harcourt where the governor bragged that APC candidates in the state would not win the election and advised Mr Tinubu against investing in them (APC candidates).

The APC spokesperson in the state said it was aware of “Governor Wike’s plot to prank our President-elect into believing his false narrative that there is no other opposition political party existing in Rivers State,” and added that “Rivers people already know this is not the correct situation on the ground.”

Rivers APC, Mr Nwauju, said is “focused on pursuing justice by challenging the outcome of the flawed 18 March elections at the Elections Petitions Tribunal and cannot be distracted by the antics of Gov. Wike and his co-travellers.”