Gov Wike Can’t Put Future, Associates At Risk By Dumping PDP – Ologbondiyan

Former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, has said the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, cannot risk his political future and those of his associates like Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, by dumping the party.

Ologbodiyan stated this on Wednesday on Arise TV’s ‘The Morning Show’ while responding to questions on increasing speculation on possible defection of Wike from the party.

Wike has been miffed over being overlooked as the PDP’s Vice Presidential candidate and has since distanced himself from the affairs of the party. His associates who include serving and former governors, senators, House of Representatives members and members of the National Executive and Working committees of PDP have also aligned with his stance against the party’s Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

While Atiku has failed to have a face to face meeting with the governor to resolve their differences, several attempts to resolve the impasse have failed and personal interventions by close associates of Atiku have also failed.

Amid this crisis, Wike has hosted several bigwigs of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, including governors from the party to commission projects raising fears of his defection.

He has also hosted the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, with the supporters of the former governor of Anambra State telling THE WHISTLER that it would be a game changer.

But Ologbodiyan poured cold water on the rumour saying the governor knows that he will be putting at risk his political future and that of his associates as many of them are contesting the 2023 elections.

The former spokesman said, “I know it and I believe that Governor Nyesom Wike is savvier politically to go and put the life of his own political machinery into an arrangement that will stop its candidates from winning elections. I know he will not do a thing like that and I am very confident about that.
“I know it as a fact that Governor Samuel Ortom is contesting for Senate in Benue and the senate and presidential elections come up on the same day and same time.”

“I know Governor Ikpeazu has senatorial interest too. So, you think that they would sit down as politicians and seed out that out to a party that they don’t have conviction about its performance? That is not the way politicians do their thing and I am sure of that,” the PDP ex-spokesman said.

Ologbodiyan pointed out that, “He (Wike) is at liberty to associate with them (opposition politicians). It is until Governor Wike picks APC or other political parties’ membership cards then we can conclude he has left the party. Until then, he remains a member of PDP.

“For us in the party, what is important is how we will win the 2023 election. What is important to us as a party is how we will relieve Nigerians from the burden of APC and President Muhammdu Buhari.

“Well, there is so much hysteria in the public space over what Governor Wike is doing; how PDP will survive and all that. But there are ways that politics work and there are things that you see in politics that hardly border you.

“,Because there are interests that are stronger than what you are seeing in the public. Firstly, what is strange about Governor Wike inviting people from the opposition parties to come and commission projects? He has been doing that and I can recall that he once invited Senator Ali Ndume, Senator Rochas Okorocha and in all these instances there were no issues about if Governor Wike was going to APC.

“The discussion then was that he was trying to attract these people to come and join the PDP. So, he has not done something far from what he has been doing before. But having said that, you talked about Peter Obi going to Rivers State and hobnobbing with PDP governors and Wike, we must recall that prior to that meeting, Peter Odili celebrated his 74th birthday and people were there so it is not strange.

“And it won’t be a surprise if Peter Obi on his own consider it necessary to meet up with Wike because he (Peter Obi) is looking for votes and he can go to anybody. That is what politicians do when they are looking for votes.”