A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Ibrahim Masari, has confirmed reports of a meeting between the presidential candidate of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and aggrieved PDP Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, in Europe earlier this week.
Recall that Podium Reports exclusively reported the meeting, relying on first-hand accounts from sources that witnessed the event which began in Paris, France, and culminated in a prolonged discussion and horse-trading in London, United Kingdom.
We had reported that Governor Wike was accompanied by his Benue and Oyo counterparts, Governor Samuel Ortom and Governor Seyi Makinde respectively. The latter, Governor Makinde, a staunch Wike ally who shares his angst against Atiku over the outcome of the PDP primary, entertained talks of a potential political collaboration in which he would work towards the victory of the APC in Oyo State in exchange for a soft landing as he challenges for a second term two weeks after the presidential election, our sources said.
Ibrahim Masari’s confirmation corroborates the account of our sources, particularly Wike’s willingness to work with the APC in securing the emergence of Tinubu as the country’s next president.
Masari told the BBC Hausa service that “the meeting was basically on the 2023 presidential election and, by God’s grace, we are going to work with governor Nyesom Wike, he will assist and we are going to win the election with ease, by the will of God.”
“This is because Wike is a big politician, a governor and has control in some other states apart from his state. He is good to the people and has associated with his people peacefully. By the grace of God, he will be of help to us,” the politician said.
A pact between Wike and the APC is predicted to undermine Atiku’s fifth bid for the presidency, considering the former’s extensive influence in the PDP and south-south region of the country where Atiku is hedging his bet, having lost face in the south-east region following the emergence of Peter Obi as a candidate on the platform of the Labour Party.