Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, has set the record straight on his rise to power as Governor of Rivers State, dismissing claims that he was handed the position by influential political leaders.
While he acknowledged the support he received from some leaders, Wike insisted that he ultimately fought his way to the top.
During a civic reception held in honor of loyal Rivers State politicians in Port Harcourt, Wike contrasted his rise to power with that of current Governor Siminalayi Fubara, whom he claimed to have made governor.
Wike made these remarks during a civic reception he held in honor of some Rivers State politicians loyal to him on Friday in Port Harcourt.
The statement follows the resurfacing of old videos circulating on social media, where former First Lady of Nigeria, Patience Jonathan, appeared to present Wike to former Governor Peter Odili and some political leaders in Rivers State as the preferred successor to then-Governor Rotimi Amaechi.
The videos resurfaced amid a verbal exchange between Wike and Odili, arising from the political crisis in the state that has placed the FCT Minister at loggerheads with his successor, Fubara.
Odili had publicly shown support for Governor Fubara, which infuriated Wike, who believes the former governor should have refrained from taking sides and instead played the role of a father figure by addressing the political crisis in the state.
Wike said, “You didn’t give me. To be governor of Rivers State in 2014, I fought for the party structure. I took it from Magnus Abe, yes, I did.
“So you can’t say you made me Governor. Nobody, I don’t want to make comments about certain people, I won’t do that.
“You Magnus, all of you, Victor Giadom, I fought you people, took the party structure.
“So, nobody can say I brought Wike, I dashed you. Nobody can say that. But it would be unfair to me, to Almighty God, for me to say nobody supported me.
“No, you can’t say that. You need people’s support, but not to say you gave me.”
Former President Goodluck Jonathan, his wife, Patience Jonathan, and Peter Odili were said to have played major roles in Wike’s emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015.
At the time, former Governor Amaechi had fallen out with Jonathan and his wife, prompting them to throw their support behind Wike, who had served as Amaechi’s Chief of Staff and later as Minister of State for Education under Jonathan.
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