Wike Receives 8,000 APC defectors, says FG Using Sheriff to Destabilise PDP

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has accused the Fed­eral Government of using discredited politicians to destabilise the People’s Demo­cratic Party (PDP).
Gov. Wike said that because the All Progressives Congress (APC) is crumbling, the Fed­eral Government has resort­ed to sponsor the Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ali Modu Sher­iff, to cause a leadership crisis in the opposition party.

Wike made the assertion on Thursday at the Sharks Sta­dium, Port Harcourt, where he received 8,000 members of the APC who defected to the state chapter of the PDP.

 He said that the rumours that the PDP was in crisis were orchestrated by the APC which  is bent on destroying PDP in the country.

The governor declared that the PDP keeps growing amidst serious distractions, stressing that God would always inter­vene whenever the party is un­der serious attacks from opposi­tion parties.
Wike said: “Let me tell you, so that nobody will start telling you different stories. There is no cri­sis in PDP. What the Federal Gov­ernment is doing is because they have seen that the APC is crum­bling and they want to cause crisis in PDP by using Sheriff.”
“I can tell you to relax. We believe in God and He has never disappointed his children. With the problems of Rivers State, God will intervene. So, we will con­tinue with what we are doing in the state; we will not be distract­ed and nobody will distract us. They thought they will distract us but they are shocked that we are not even bothered about what they are doing. We are still mov­ing forward”.
To the decampees, Wike said: “This time you have taken out to­day will not be in vain. Continue to be loyal to the leadership of the party which is very important. As I said before, there will be no dis­crimination. I have told the par­ty chairman to ensure that you are fully integrated and that eve­rybody should be treated equally.”
In his remark, the former PDP National Acting Chair­man, Prince Uche Secondus, welcomed the defectors and their leaders back to the PDP. He said that with the numbers of APC members that have defected to PDP, the APC has crumbled in the state.
He advised all PDP members to protect their votes during the 2019 elections in the state, stress­ing that the Independent Nation­al Electoral Commission (INEC) will no longer be allowed to write the results of Rivers elections from Abuja.
Earlier, the state PDP Chair­men, Mr. Felix Obuah, disclosed that 7,800 decampees were pre­sent at the stadium to be officially received by Governor Wike into the PDP. He added that the figure was higher.
Among those received by Wike were Chief Emeh Glory Emeh, over 200 former coun­cillors of the APC; the former Commissioner for Culture un­der Rotimi Amaechi’s admin­istration, Sunny Wokekoro; the APC leader in ONELGA, Meri­no Okiraija; former Chairman of Emohua LGA, Bob Okala; APC leader in ASALGA, Hon. Oro­losama Amachree; the former Chairman of Ahoada East LGA, Chief Cassidy, and many others.
Meanwhile, former Presi­dent Goodluck Jonathan has de­nied allegations by Sheriff that he received N50 million from Wike to organise the recent PDP peace meeting.
Sheriff had alleged on Thurs­day that Wike and his Ekiti State counterpart, Ayodele Fayose, re­cruited Jonathan to scuttle Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson’s peace efforts.
On Thursday last week, Jona­than organised a PDP stakehold­ers’ meeting as part of ongoing ef­forts to find a lasting solution to the crisis rocking the party.
Jonathan, through his spokesman, Mr. Ikechukwu Eze, said that there was no reason for anybody to accuse him of collect­ing money from anybody to or­ganise a stakeholders’ conference.
Eze said: “The former Presi­dent intervened in the crisis be­cause of his genuine commitment to bringing about peace in the party that made him President. I don’t think anybody will believe that he collected money from an­ybody to organise the meeting.”
“It is out of his genuine con­cern to bring peace in the party. He has been meeting with mem­bers of the party; he met with Sheriff severally, he also met with Ahmed Makarfi on many occa­sions. He met with the governors. I don’t see any reason for anybody to say that Jonathan collected money from anybody to organ­ise the stakeholders’ conference,” Eze said.
Also, Fayose has accused Sheriff of doing the bidding of his paymasters in the APC, add­ing that there was no reason for any sane person to continue to re­spond to the continuous adver­tisement of Sheriff’s political un­democratic actions.
Through his media aide, Mr. Lere Olayinka, the governor said: “If Ali Modu Sheriff has taken his desperation to serve his paymas­ters in the APC to the level of ac­cusing former President Good­luck Jonathan of being bribed to organise a peace meeting for the PDP, there is no reason for any sane mind to continue to respond to the continuous advertisement of ... political insanity.”

While addressing newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, Sheriff, through his deputy, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, alleged that Jonathan was lured into committing a seri­ous breach of protocol that led to the failure of the exercise which was the intended outcome.
He said: “It was a thing of joy for the party faithful as they re­joiced that indeed peace has re­turned to the party. But to the sur­prise of all, Governor Wike and Governor Fayose recruited for­mer President Goodluck Jona­than into a ‘fake’ peace effort pre­determined to scuttle Governor Dickson’s efforts.”
“The result is that Jonathan was lured into committing a se­rious breach of protocol that led to the failure of the exercise which was the intended outcome.”
Sheriff also alleged that Wike sponsored the meeting with Jona­than with the sum of N50 million.