“It is not possible that APC is sponsoring PDP presidential aspirants. APC does not have time to do such. In fact, we should be the one accusing the PDP of planted moles in APC..NABENA
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has claimed that some presidential aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were agents of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In an interview he granted Premium Times, yesterday, Wike also dismissed accusations that he had the party in his pocket.
“In politics, every governor supports the party. Most leaders support the party. Those who are complaining about me are those who are afraid because they are the agents of the APC. We know those PDP presidential aspirants who are agents of the APC. We know them. The presidency and the APC have planted people within our party, and we know it,” he said.
The governor added that he would not fall for the antics of the APC again the same way he did when the ruling party “planted” former Borno State governor, Alhaji Ali-Modu Sheriff in the PDP.
“They planted Modu Sheriff and we fell for it. I bought into it not knowing it was a set-up. And then when we realised it, we said no, we have to fight it. And we fought it. I cannot again fall the fool that I became under Ali-Modu Sheriff. I know some of our presidential aspirants who are running on the sponsorship of the APC and the presidency,” he said.
Sheriff, two times governor of Borno State on the platform of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) is also a founding member of the APC.
In 2014, he defected to the PDP and was made national chairman to take over from Prince Uche Secondus, who acted as chairman after former Bauchi State governor, Adamu Muazu, resigned following the defeat of the PDP in the 2015 presidential election. In 2016, Sheriff was removed and replaced with former governor of Kaduna State, Ahmed Makarfi at a convention in Port Harcourt.
Sheriff took the party to court and insisted he was the authentic national chairman. On February 17, 2017, the Court of Appeal sitting in Port Harcourt, declared Sheriff the authentic national chairman. He was finally removed in July, 2017 following the verdict by a five-man panel of the Supreme Court that reinstated Makarfi.
Sheriff returned to the APC last April and was reportedly appointed by the Presidency as Director General of the Buhari 2019 Presidential Support Committee, a position occupied by former Rivers State governor and Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi.
The Federal Government later dissociated itself from the said appointment.
Reacting to Governor Wike’s allegation, the APC told the PDP to start putting measures in place to manage imminent the implosion that will engulf the party instead of accusing it of sponsoring some presidential aspirants.
It warned that the situation PDP found itself is a confirmation that it would some crumble under the wait of crisis which will envelop it soon.
Asked about the Wike’s allegation, Nabena said: “It is not possible that APC is sponsoring PDP presidential aspirants. APC does not have time to do such. In fact, we should be the one accusing the PDP of planted moles in APC.
“The alarm they are raising is sign that they already know they will be thoroughly defeated even before the election is conducted. It is a sign that they have failed. How can a party with all the big names in Nigerian politics be expressing fears already.
“It is obvious that the party cannot control all the big names. Atiku mobilised crowd to prove to other aspirants that he has people more that them but he failed to settle them with the agreed sum and that was why there was fracas there,” he alleged.
