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Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), asserted that his endorsement of President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 presidential contest does not constitute a betrayal of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Wike declared that he remained steadfast and informed Nigerians that his camp would not back the PDP if the presidential ticket was zoned to the north, stressing that betrayal is not a problem.
Speaking on Sunday at a New Year’s luncheon he hosted in his rural Port Harcourt house, Wike expressed his concern about playing politics of unity in Rivers state.
The minister said he is all about the unity of the state, hence the reason he went with some PDP leaders to visit the National Vice Chairman (South-South) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Victor Giadom.
He said, “Today, he (Giadom) is here with all APC leaders. Membership of the party is not on Radio or Television. So, all of us must make Rivers State to move forward.
“Let’s move forward for the interest of the state. That is important. I took the decision and you listened to me. I want you to also listen to me now. Let’s accept what Mr. President has said. It is for the interest of Rivers and for Nigeria in general.
“It may not be the best but there is no option. Mr. President took a lot of risk to give me the position of Minister of FCT. People protested but he stood firm. If he could do that, you too should accept his decision.
“When we came back from Abuja, within the next 48 hours, the speaker and his people took the decision to obey Mr. President without attaching any condition. I thank Mr. Speaker and other members for respecting Mr. President.
“Whether you are APC or PDP or you don’t belong to any of the parties, we owe a duty to give Mr. President support to move this country forward. Some people said I betrayed PDP, but I never betrayed PDP. We stood firm and told Nigerians we wouldn’t do this if this was not done. So the issue of betrayal doesn’t arise”.