I’ll Celebrate If Amaechi Leaves PDP Today, Says Wike

The Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, has renewed his war of words with Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State by daring him and his supporters to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for another political party.

Wike said if Amaechi and his supporters are sure of their popularity in the state, they should decamp to another party, promising that he (Wike) and his followers would celebrate their exit. The minister, who is the grand patron of the Grassroots Development Initiative, GDI, made this remark on Sunday during a rally organised by the group in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

Wike said, “If you think you are so popular, why not join another party. The day they join another party, we will do thanksgiving. We will have to celebrate their exit and we will tell them that nobody can rig elections in Rivers State any longer. The day you dare it is the day you see the consequences. We are going to resist any attempt to say that our votes will not count.

Wike also stated that the support for President Goodluck Jonathan in the Niger Delta was not hinged on any condition except the fact that he (Jonathan) had done well.
Speaking earlier, the PDP Chairman in Rivers State, Felix Obuah, said they (PDP) were witnessing a wind of change in Rivers, adding that six commissioners in Gov. Amaechi’s cabinet had indicated their intention to resign from the government.

But in his response, Governor Amaechi, who spoke through the Chief of Staff, Government House, Chief Tony Okocha, said Wike should be bothered about the capital flight and the attendant brain-drain in the education sector and stop visiting the state every other weekend to oil his campaign machinery. “Rivers people are wiser. Wike’s ranting every weekend in Rivers State leaves much to be imagined especially as the country is relapsing to the Dark Age. “As supervising minister for education, it should have been reasonable for him to bother about the fact that students roam the streets and take to heinous crimes because of a protracted strike by lecturers.
“Rivers people are not opposed to Mr. President. Wike should stop his attempt to commonise the office of Mr. President in his attempt to curry under-served favour. Wike should be taught that ideas rule the world. Petty mind discuss people,” Okocha said.