Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that the recent gale of defections that hit the ruling All Progressives Congress are evidence of the failure of the incumbent Federal administration.
Wike said that the APC-led Federal Government had failed Nigerians and was now experiencing a backlash of its misgovernance.
He declared that the APC Federal Government had been running the country on vindictiveness, intimidation and illegality, whilst denying Nigerians the dividends of democracy.
Wike, who spoke in Port Harcourt, stated that more high profile defections from the ruling APC were, therefore, in the offing across the country.
He said, “Politics is all about alignments and re-alignments. We expected these defections, knowing that the ruling party at the national level has completely failed the people.
“It is not hidden that even when they had majority in the two chambers of the National Assembly, they never had it easy because their representatives knew the APC had nothing to offer the people.
“For me, I had expected these defections more than a year ago. More will happen across the country.”
The Rivers governor also berated the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, for his alleged double-speak on the Benue State Governor, Dr. Samuel Ortom, decrying the unfounded allegations by the APC against the Benue governor on the killings by herdsmen in the state.
Wike said, “APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole said in one breadth that Ortom is the best that they have. The following day because he had defected, he said fielding Ortom would have been a calamity. This double-speak is laughable.
“I think it is unfair for the APC national chairman to begin to do the work of the security and the Judiciary. For him to indict the aides of Ortom over Benue killings, when the APC never took that position when he was in their party, is most unfortunate. Now that the Benue State governor has defected, they are throwing up these allegations. These are the people who claim they want to fight corruption, but they are always acting illegally.
“This is politics of vindictiveness. This is politics of vengeance. There is an extent to which you can push people. You can intimidate people, but not all the times. When you push people to the wall, they tell you ‘enough is enough‘. That is what you are seeing today in Nigeria. ”
The Rivers governor said that the PDP was working round the clock with all stakeholders to put an end to the failed APC Federal Government in 2019.
He said the PDP was now stronger and more vibrant, having been rebuilt over the last three years.
Wike said, “What we are doing now is part of the preparedness towards 2019. If we are not prepared, people won’t come to the party. They know that the PDP is very serious and PDP is stronger.
“It is not easy for an opposition party to receive defectors of such magnitude. It shows that the party is doing quite a lot. We don’t need to make a noise. But people are working underground. We don’t need to come on the pages of newspapers to outline what we are doing. The ruling party only believes in intimidation and harassment.”
He noted that in Rivers State, the APC-led Federal Government had been using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to intimidate government officials, despite a subsisting court judgment on the matter.
He said that the state government would not succumb to any intimidation.
On the execution of projects, Governor Wike said that his administration would sustain projects delivery till the end of its first term.
He said that the time for political campaigns had been scheduled, pointing out that it would not affect project execution.
Governor Wike later inspected the dualisation of the Elelenwo-Akpajo Road, the construction of Judges Quarters in Port Harcourt and the ongoing construction of Mile One Market.
He was in company with the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and Rivers State Executive Council.
