Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, has explained why Nyesom Wike, the recently-departed Governor of Rivers State, visited him, reiterating that the Minister-designate is completely prepared to work with the ruling party.
This was happening at the same time that the former governor of Kano State expressed his firm belief that Wike’s presence will help the APC’s chances in 2027.
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Simon Bako Lalong, the former governor of Plateau State and director general of the disbanded APC Presidential Campaign Council, paid a solidarity visit to the party’s national secretariat in Abuja when Ganduje made the announcement.
The 73-year-old politician, however, denied discussing anything concerning the purported defection of the former Rivers State governor to the ruling APC.
He said, “You know Wike is a honourable Minister designate so he came, we discussed, because I was looking for him to congratulate him for that. He also came to congratulate me.
“We discussed that when he becomes minister fully, he will work very hard in order to move the ministry he is given forward and he is ready to cooperate. But we didn’t discuss the issue of his coming to APC or not coming to APC. That issue will arise later.”
Continuing, the national chairman disclosed that while having the presence of Wike in the party will improve their chances ahead of the next poll, they have started working on a blueprint that will boost the followership in such a manner that will see many other political parties merging with the APC.
“Having Wike will certainly improve the chances of this our party, especially in 2027, and not only that we are coming out with a new blueprint to increase the followership of the party and this will include all strata of officials; those who are in APC and those who are in other political parties. I assure you very soon some of the political parties will even merge with the APC. We are doing that underground.
“But the spirit of national unity does not mean the spirit of one party in Nigeria. Spirit of national unity means spirit of national competence and spirit of national capacity,” he stated.
