Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers have said that former Governor Nyesom Wike is not responsible for the impressive growth of the party in the state.
In a document released to journalists on Thursday, the leaders said that APC’s growth had been organically steady since 2015 when the party came into being.
The leaders, who stated that the release of the document was to put the records straight, said that the party surpassed its votes of 2015 during the 2019 elections when Wike was governor on the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
They stressed that APC experienced natural, internal growth over time and because of the efforts of party technocrats in the state; it narrowed and eventually surpassed the lead that PDP had since 2015.
Parts of the document stated:
“Our growth patterns have been consistent since the 2015 presidential onslaught against Rivers APC. Our growth from 2015 to 2019 was 23.8 per cent, closing the huge gap of the 2015 presidential election.
“Then the 2023 presidential election came in with additional 80,881 votes in favour of APC in Rivers state.
“The question is, where is the helping hand of former Governor Wike? Can he claim to have helped Rivers APC with only 80,881 votes when our growth showed organic growth since 2019?”
The group insisted that Wike did not work for APC, adding that he lost his polling unit and his ward.
“When he found that his political career was gone, he decided to pitch his tent with APC, just to have a comfort zone to rob APC in Rivers state,” the group added.
The group further clarified that the difference between APC performance between 2015 and 2019 was 82,000 votes. It added that the difference between 2019 and 2023 is 80,000 votes.
“None of his so-called PDP members worked for us. Some were secretly for Labour Party, and others did for PDP in their respective polling units.
“These efforts are projected to result in the complete takeover of the state by the APC in 2027,” they stated.
They, therefore, expressed optimism that with the combined efforts of party technocrats in Rivers and President Bola Tinubu’s able leadership, they expected significant progress in the nation’s growth.
