Allow strategic alliance with Wike to stand, Okechukwu tells Tinubu

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has urged President Bola Tinubu to allow the strategic alliance with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, to stand.

Tinubu’s ally, Wike, a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party  is currently running a nationwide Rainbow Coalition between his-led PDP faction and the ruling APC.

Okechukwu made the appeal on Sunday in Enugu while reacting to moves by some APC state governors to alienate Tinubu from his political ally, Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers.

Okechukwu  said his appeal was based on the political significance and strategic value of Wike’s alliance, which contributed to Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election and could again add considerable value in 2027 contest.

According to him, the political realignment around Wike has already weakened the influence of opposition parties nationwide; in addition is the fact that the PDP presidential candidate is truly a “placeholder” posing no danger.

Okechukwu further argued that from his own political analysis, Wike could ultimately deliver more votes to Tinubu than some of the APC governors who are currently seeking to distance themselves from him.

Hee cautioned that some of the governors who were now raising alarm about Wike’s relationship with the president should first examine their own conduct during the APC’s gubernatorial and legislative primaries.

“Some of those who are crying wolf today should remember that the electorate has not forgotten how our great party’s gubernatorial and legislative primaries were conducted in their respective states.

“Where primaries were manipulated, the consequences may eventually come back to haunt the perpetrators,” he said.

Okechukwu said he was particularly encouraged by the fact that there would be three clear weeks between the presidential election scheduled for Jan. 16, 2027, and the gubernatorial election scheduled for Feb. 6, 2027.

He described the interval as an opportunity for Nigerian voters to assess the performance of both the Federal Government and State Governments, especially against the backdrop of the increased financial allocations accruing to the states.

Okechukwu, former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), said: “My happiness is that there is a gap of three good weeks between the Jan. 16, 2027 presidential election and the Feb. 6, 2027 gubernatorial election.