Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has stated that he remains a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), despite the mass defection of Rivers State lawmakers loyal to him to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wike made the clarification on Friday in Abuja, shortly after 16 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including Speaker Martins Amaewhule, announced their switch, due to the divisions within the PDP as their constitutional justification.
Wike, the former Governor of Rivers State who has been at the centre of an ongoing political crisis with his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara, stated that the defecting lawmakers acted within their rights. He placed the blame on the PDP’s unresolved national crisis.
Wike described the development as unfortunate, stating that the PDP is fully factionalized. He argued that the party’s constitution allows members to leave when such a deep internal crisis exists.
I am still in the PDP and it is not everybody that has left. I believe 16 or 17 of them have left out of 27. We still have quite a good number; about 10, and we will continue to work together. It is unfortunate. I have always said everybody has the right to make a choice. The party is fully factionalised. And the requirement of the Constitution is that when a party is factionalised, members are allowed to leave – Wike
Wike insisted he is still in the PDP, despite being the political patron of the defectors, adding that not all members left. He mentioned that approximately 10 lawmakers remain in the opposition party, promising to continue working with them. Wike stated that the lawmakers never told him about their decision beforehand.
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