Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers has said his Edo State counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, is free to return to the APC if he feels the PDP is not working for him.
Obaseki was recently re-elected governor under the PDP platform in a fiercely contested polls.
Wike, however, said the Edo State governor must never forget that he was given an umbrella when he was left in the cold.
The Rivers State governor said this on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Friday.
When asked what he would do if Obaseki left the PDP, Wike said,
“I don’t want to discuss something that is not going to be possible. However, assuming it happens, so what? That is politics.
“If the governor believes that the PDP is no longer a party for him to actualise his vision and his mission, there is nothing wrong but I don’t believe that it is going to happen because the governor has consistently told us that there is no way he will leave the PDP. If he leaves the PDP, people in Edo State will not be happy.
“And he is somebody I have that trust in that he will not leave the party. This is a party that clothed him. This is a party that when it was raining, gave him an umbrella.”
Wike said he did not play such a big role in Obaseki’s re-election but only acted as the chairman of the campaign council.
He said he merely supervised the campaign, presented strategies and gave guidance.
The governor said it would be wrong of anyone to give him the glory when others like Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, played their roles.
Wike stated that he did not fund Obaseki’s campaign because the governor already had enough money to execute his campaign.
“What resources could I have deployed? He is a sitting governor. What resources can I give him that he does not have?” he asked.
Recall that Obaseki had said his fight with leaders and members of the opposition APC is over.
He made the declaration on Tuesday while receiving his certificate of return at the INEC office in Aduwawa, Benin City.
He went ahead to invite his closest contender and flagbearer of the APC, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and other members to join him in the administration of the state.
“I am using this opportunity to extend a hand of fellowship to my brother Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and other colleagues in the APC to join us and work with us so that we can move Edo forward.
“On a specific note, I want to use this opportunity to call on the former Chairman of the APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomole that the fight is over and he should come and join in building the house where he was part of laying the foundation. We have no malice. The only thing we disagree on is the approach in moving Edo State forward,” he said.
Obaseki adds that both members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and APC are one family and cooperation is needed in moving Edo State forward.
“To our friends and brothers on the other side of the divide, we are one family in the pursuit to provide services and public goods for our citizens.
“Our citizens have decided that for now, they trust us more to provide the leadership. It does not mean that they do not have a role to play. It does not mean that they are not part of the family,” the governor stressed.
The electoral body had earlier issued certificates of return to Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, and his deputy, Phillip Shaibu at the INEC office in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
The National Commissioner, INEC in charge of Edo, Rivers, and Bayelsa, Mrs May Agbmuche-Mbu made the presentation and commended stakeholders including the security agencies for their role in the smooth conduct of the poll.
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