Wike Scores New Record With Control Of PDP, APC Structures

In an unprecedented political development FCT minister, Nyesom Wike has taken control of the structures of the APC and PDP, the two major political parties in Rivers State, becoming the first Nigerian in any state to take control of the ruling and major opposition parties.

GWG.ng reports that Wike was gifted the control of the All Progressives Congress, APC structure in Rivers State after his Man Friday, Tony Okocha was appointed chairman of the caretaker committee of the party by the National Working Committee, NWC of the party.

The structure of the ruling party in the state had already been built around Wike.

Prior to the dissolution of the APC structures in Rivers State, the party had been under the influence of the penultimate governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi, who ran second in the presidential convention in June 2022.

Amaechi, following the outcome of the convention that saw Asiwaju Bola Tinubu emerge as presidential candidate drew back to the background and made rare political appearances.

Wike exploited the opportunity and mobilized support for Tinubu in Rivers State a development that saw him being rewarded with the powerful position of FCT minister.

Besides, it is largely believed that he has nominated a significant proportion of political actors appointed by President Tinubu into various positions in government.

The appointment of Okocha, who incidentally succeeded Wike as Amaechi’s chief of staff is perhaps seen as the icing in the cap by political actors

GWG.ng reports that few political actors have had the kind of leverage to openly control the structures of the ruling and the main opposition parties in any state of the federation as Wike now has over the APC and PDP in Rivers State.

The nearest was the late Senator Olusola Saraki who as an NPN stalwart influenced the emergence of a UPN governor in 1983 a feat he repeated in 2003 when while in the ANPP he ushered his son, Bukola as governor.

“Saraki’s prowess was limited to elections, but not like Wike who has the control of the two major parties in his hand,” one political actor said on Thursday.

“He is a political goal-getter and it shows that he can only be underestimated at one’s risk,” a close associate of the minister told GWG.ng.

The APC in its appointment of the new caretaker committee delegated it to compile a new electronic party register, putting forward the unlikely prospect of Amaechi going to queue behind Wike’s man to renew his membership of the APC!

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