Wike, Rivers APC disagree on meeting with Osinbajo




The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, and the All Progressives Congress have disagreed on a meeting held by the party with Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.

Wike had accused the leadership of the APC in the state of misinforming Osinbajo that they were holding a party meeting in Port Harcourt, only for them to “turn around and claim” to be holding a Niger Delta stakeholders’ meeting.

The APC, however, explained that there was no pretence about the meeting with Osinbajo, adding that some segments of the Rivers society were not given the opportunity to express their views at the stakeholders’ meeting with the Acting President on Monday.

 The governor had lauded the Osinbajo for setting the record straight when he proclaimed the APC slogan and explained that he was at the event to meet his Rivers APC family.

Wike made this remark on Tuesday while addressing former Ndoni APC members, led by Chief Ofili Enebeli, after their defection to the Peoples Democratic Party in Port Harcourt.

The governor noted that the successful official engagements of the Acting President to Rivers State sent shivers down the spines of political mischief makers, who he alleged, had been spreading falsehood about the state.

Wike stated, “Just because the Acting President slept in Rivers State and went round our projects confirmed that this man (Wike) is Mr. Projects; they (the state APC) suddenly became troubled.

 “They persuaded the Acting President that there will be the need for him to talk to APC members. I have no problems with that. Mr. Acting President is a member of the APC. But governance is governance.

“When they got there, they renamed the APC meeting as stakeholders’ meeting. Shame! Shame! It was not Rivers stakeholders’ meeting and it couldn’t have been.”

The state Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Chris Finebone, however, explained that some civil society organisations were sidelined from the earlier stakeholders’ meeting held at the Government House.

Finebone pointed out that the situation informed the meeting with the Acting President, adding that it (meeting) created a platform for those, shut out of the stakeholders’ meeting on Monday, to present their position.

The APC spokesman added, “Our response to the governor on this matter is that we cannot help their heartbreak over the presence and the speech the Acting President made at the meeting. It was a stakeholders’ meeting, but you might say that there were other interest groups there.

“The town hall meeting on Monday was technically hijacked and this saw to the sidelining of other groups. Today, (Tuesday) we have members of the civil society organisation, who presented their views.”


“We were able to get Etche people to present their views. After we noticed the deliberate attempt to deny some segments of Rivers State the opportunity to present their views, we decided to provide a platform for others to present their positions.”

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