By Aminu Kutama
Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress Asiwaju Bola Tinubu met with Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike outside the country in preparation for the 2023 general elections.
According to The Cable, Tinubu met with Wike in company of Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom and his Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, in France.
This meeting was further confirmed to have taken place by the WesternPost, a paper believed to be owned by Tinubu’s close allies.
Sources close to Wike who confided in the paper said the meeting held in another country other than France.
“Yes, we left Nigeria to meet with Tinubu on Monday. We initially thought it would hold in France because that was where Tinubu went the last time he left the country. We however got signal close to our time of departure that we should proceed somewhere else.
“Governors Ortom and Makinde who have been supporters of Wike from the beginning were also on the trip,” the source added.
The meeting is believed to be connected to getting Wike’s support for Tinubu in next year’s election. “Yes, the discussion was centered on the 2023 election. The Tinubu camp know how important votes from Rivers State and are looking for how to get Wike to work for them,” he also added.
While it may the hard for Wike to leave the PDP because of some of his followers who are already contesting for elections in the party, the Tinubu camp is expecting him to use his influence in the state to work for them and deliver Rivers State for the APC.
Since Wike lost the Peoples Democratic Party presidential primaries to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, he has been implacable and cantankerous in his speeches.
He has also many times threatened many members of the PDP in the state who are loyal to Atiku, closing down some businesses owned by them.
Efforts to also reconcile with him have become hard, as the meetings between his camp and Atiku’s team ended in deadlock.
The PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Senator Walid Jibrin, had on Sunday said he did not mind giving up his position to fix the rift in the party.
