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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, On Wednesday, hosted the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, at Government House, Port Harcourt, after his campaign in Rivers State.
Tinubu was welcomed by Wike, leader of the G5 governors, which is at loggerheads with the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and has refused to campaign for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
While Atiku cancelled his campaign in Rivers State after clashes between his supporters and Wike’s supporters, Tinubu got the campaign venue free of charge.
According to reports, Wike held a meeting with Tinubu outside the country to perfect the 2023 election strategies, but both sides denied the reports.
Tinubu reportedly held different meetings with Wike in the buildup to the 2023 elections while key APC chieftains had also inaugurated projects executed by Wike’s administration.
Meanwhile, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, stayed away from Tinubu’s campaign rally in Rivers state on Wednesday.
Amaechi, who is the APC leader in the state, came second in the party’s presidential primary won by Tinubu,
The absence of the former minister at Yakubu Gowon Stadium, Port Harcourt, venue of the rally, fueled speculations that all is not well between him and the APC presidential candidate.
But the APC Publicity Secretary in the state, Darlington Nwauju, dispelled reports of crisis, saying that the former minister could not attend the rally because he was busy academic programmes.
“If you are not aware, the former Transportation Minister is a Law school student and is attending to his academic. But you must also know that Amaechi is firmly in charge of the APC structure in Rivers State,” he stated.
Some allies of Amaechi have frowned at Tinubu’s romance with Wike, estranged ally of the former minister.