‘What Wike is doing in Rivers is ridiculous,’ Abati claims

Dr. Reuben Abati, a former presidential aide, has criticised the actions of the FCT minister, Nyesom Wike, claiming that he is exposing President Tinubu to ridicule.

The Veteran Journalist, while speaking with Arise Television on Thursday morning, claimed that the minister lacks the authority to involve himself in the affairs of APC in Rivers State.

He explained that the party’s present Chairman, Nentawe Yilwatda, had publicly told Wike not to interfere in the internal affairs of the party. Abati also stated that the minister’s former party, PDP, had disowned him repeatedly.

“Now first, let’s deal with Wike who says he’s having a rainbow coalition that is going to shut out everybody in the Rivers State, and it seems to me that he doesn’t have that right. In fact, the director of information of the APC, in addition to the chairman of the party, Nentawe Yilwatda, and the spokesperson of the party, Ajibola Basiru, have more or less said that Wike is a busy body who has no business interfering in the affairs of the All Progressives Congress, the ruling party, because as far as they are concerned, he’s a member of the People’s Democratic Party”

”The same people’s Democracy Party has rejected him, saying that he’s not their member, and they’ve repeated it again and again. But even more fundamental issues as follows, you have a minister of the Federal Capital Territory who has abandoned his duty post, and he’s in Rivers state, playing politics, door to door, house to house, and says he’s campaigning for president. The party itself says they have not sent him on any message. It seems to me the FCT minister is undermining President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and exposing him for contempt of the Nigerian people,” he stated.

Abati also stated that the FCT minister has been acting irresponsibly and ridiculously, stressing that he has no business conducting campaigns in Rivers State.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission has not even blown the whistle as regards political campaigns. He’s busy in Rivers state conducting campaigns. And so what is INEC supposed to do in this particular regard? So when you talk about Rivers state, it looks like an act of discipline on the part of the FCT minister. It looks like an act of irresponsibility on the part of the FCT minister. What Nyesom Wike is doing in Rivers state is very ridiculous. And I think that the embarrassment to the president of Nigeria does not amount to help. It amounts to, you know, trying to upstage the President of Nigeria, and therefore we are not surprised that principal members of the all progressive Congress have complained,” he added.