Former national chairman of Protocols/Logistics Committee of the defunct Tinubu-Shettima Grassroots Independent Campaign Council (TSGICC), Chief Tony Okocha, has revealed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, worked closely for the victory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
He stated that the feat was made possible because of the intervention and support of immediate-past Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
Okocha spoke yesterday in Port Harcourt, while reacting to a statement credited to the TSGICC coordinator in the state, Hon. Augustine Nwokocha, where he claimed that his (Okocha’s) call on Wike to join APC was not a collective position, but a personal one.
He insisted that his call on Wike to come over to the party was because the former governor worked closely to ensure Tinubu won the presidential election in Rivers State, adding that leaders of the party in the state met and took the position.
Okocha, who is also an APC chieftain said it was not calumnious that Senator Magnus Abe left the party when the President needed him most, pointing out that Abe and his close followers left the party and featured only in activities of the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
He stated that the call on Wike to join the APC would help rejig the party for efficient performance ahead of 2027, adding that when Abe and Nwokocha were so disappointed in their capacities that he got support to deliver Tinubu elsewhere.
Okocha said: “When I sensed that something will go wrong, I moved to meet the coordinators of Emohua, Ikwerre, Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City LGAs for a way forward. Remember that during the polls PDP and APC were like twin brothers.”
“The national body of our party gave us N10,000,000 for rally in the state and the money was paid to Austin Nwokocha. Nwokocha did not tell me, but I was called by the national office, I now confronted him and he said the money has been handed over to Abe.
“It may not be sane that in 2027 Wike will not be in APC to help us. APC in Rivers State is in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit). We collectively called on Wike. It is not a personal call. We don’t want interlopers from middling into our activities.
“My purpose of supporting Tinubu was not because of what I will get, but for the joy of having him lead the nation. Before the election, all of us were in APC under Tinubu’s slant. We were under Tinubu’s Vanguard. APC has become a social club because it cannot win elections. We need to rejig and harness eggheads.”
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