Umahi, Ayade, Ikpeazu, Wike In Closed Door Meeting In Port Harcourt [PHOTOS]
Two All Progressives Congress (APC) governors paid a visit to Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike on Wednesday night in Port Harcourt, the state capital, amid political maneuvering ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State was with the two APC governors, Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State and Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State.
Power brokers in the Peoples Democratic Party include Wike and Ikpeazu (PDP). The two have for months demanded the ouster of PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, as a condition of supporting the party’s Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar. The other three PDP governors are from the states of Oyo, Enugu, and Benue.
On the other hand, Umahi dumped the PDP in November 2020 and joined the APC. He would later contest the APC presidential primary in mid-2022 but lost to former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu.
Similarly, Ayade left the PDP for the APC in May 2021 and jostled to be the ruling party’s flag bearer. However, like Umahi, he was trounced by Tinubu.
Wike and Umahi were former allies before the latter’s move to the APC. The two engaged in a war of words following the defection of the Ebonyi State governor to the APC.
However, the former foes may have perfectly sealed their reconciliation as Umahi, for the third time within six months, on Wednesday night, visited Wike in Port Harcourt. He previously visited the Rivers governor in June and in August 2022.
Though the details of Wednesday’s meeting were unknown as of press time as none of the four governors addressed journalists after the closed-door session, there are indications of a formidable political alliance ahead of next February’s presidential poll.
While Wike and his allies have not been seen to campaign for Atiku, it is not clear whether they will support Tinubu or Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the contest for Aso Rock’s top job which has been described by analysts and keen observers as a three-horse race.
