Okocha: Wike Behind Tinubu’s Victory in Rivers

The South-South coordinator of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Vanguard (BATV) and head of the National Protocol Committee of the Tinubu Independent Campaign Council in Rivers State (ICC), Chief Tony Okocha, has disclosed that Governor Nyesom Wike played a crucial role in Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s victory in Rivers State.

When speaking to reporters on Thursday in Port Harcourt, Chief Okocha stated that it would be an understatement to claim that Governor Wike was a major factor in Tinubu’s victory in Rivers.

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Okocha claimed that without Wike’s financial, material, and human support, Tinubu would not have won the Rivers State presidential election.
“I’m not even sure how to express how important the governor was to Tinubu’s victory. Wike is one million times responsible for the APC’s victory in Rivers State. In 2015, when we had the APC governor, I was serving as chief of staff. All of the well-known people you hear about today have left their political party to join another in search of better opportunities.

“Despite their best efforts, they were unable to deliver the APC’s presidential candidate in 2015. In 2015, President Buhari received 65,000 of the two million votes cast in Rivers State, where the PDP candidate Goodluck Jonathan won the majority of the vote. Wike played a key role in that victory.

“The situation deteriorated in 2019. The governorship in 2019 caused us to be divided, and the outcome was that we were unable to cooperate. The situation deteriorated in 2019. We were divided in 2019 by the governorship election rather than the presidential one, but despite this, we all continued to cooperate and the outcome was even more appalling.

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“In 2023, we had a governor who was collaborating with the G5 governors. He joined our team, and a few days before the election, that same governor did more than just support Tinubu. He advised the residents of Rivers to cast their ballots for a presidential candidate who will stand up for them once he is elected.