Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, couldn’t resist a swipe at the latest jump-ship move in Rivers politics as Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his crew declared for the ruling All Progressives Congress last December.
Chatting with supporters, Wike hinted that President Bola Tinubu has seen enough “rainbow loyalty” to spot the genuine from the rent-a-mob.
“You can scribble a new party on your form, but you can’t erase the story in your blood,” he said, tongue firmly in cheek. “Posing for photos in Aso Rock doesn’t earn you a place in the family album. The President knows the faces that stood guard when the going was rough.”
Wike’s loyalists read it as a dart aimed straight at their former protégé, arguing that Fubara’s APC sticker is a quick ticket to federal cover and a wedge driven into Wike’s home turf.
Yet some pol-watchers say the governor’s party swap has split the local APC into two camps, leaving Wike sharing space with a rival he’d rather keep far away.
Over at the Peoples Democratic Party, the rush for the exit door has triggered a round of self-blame. The PDP calls the bleeding “a wound we carved ourselves,” blaming weak internal democracy for the exodus.
