2023: Tension In Rivers As Wike Keeps Party Men, Supporters Waiting

The indecision of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike to declare his position ahead of the 2023 general elections has created a tense atmosphere in the state’s political space.

Supporters and members of Governor Wike’s Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State are unsure which presidential candidate to back in 2023.

Governor Wike’s supporters are unsure whether to vote for the PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, or any other presidential candidate because he has yet to state his position.

Rivers State has received attention in recent months due to Governor Wike’s call for PDP National Chairman Iyorchia Ayu to resign.

Wike requested that a southerner take over the PDP before the 2023 election to ensure equity and fairness.

Although Governor Wike has assured PDP stakeholders that he will not leave the party, his recent comments have questioned the promise.

Recall that during the inauguration of the Rivers PDP campaign council, Governor Wike stated that people who disrespect the state do not deserve Rivers people’s votes.

Wike claimed that Atiku appointed Rivers State residents to the Presidential Campaign Council without consulting him.

He went on to say that Atiku’s decision shows that he does not want his support in 2023.

Governor Wike recently endorsed the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, against the PDP governorship candidate in the state.

Furthermore, with President Muhammadu Buhari’s award to Wike for his infrastructural renaissance in Rivers, some political analysts in the state are perplexed by Governor Wike’s sudden romance with the APC government.

The Rivers State chapter of the APC has warned the party’s Southwest Governors not to disrespect them by romancing Wike.

The party’s state stakeholders issued the warning during a day consultative meeting with party stalwarts in the South-South zone in Port Harcourt.

The stakeholders urged the national leadership to prevent governors from visiting the state unless it is for solidarity reasons.

The party also urged its national leadership to persuade the governors not to visit the state, if only for the sake of solidarity.

Recent developments make it difficult to predict who the Rivers PDP will vote for in the 2023 presidential election.