By Joseph Erunke, ABUJA

All Progressives Congress, APC leaders in Rivers State have denied the claim in some quarters that the immediate past governor of the state, Nyesom Wike is responsible for the party’s impressive growth and performance in the state

They said Wike only pitched his tent with the party prior to the 2023 general elections just to have a comfort zone only when he realized that his political career was gone.

APC Publicity Secretary in Rivers State, Darlington Nwauju, who spoke on behalf of the party leaders in Abuja, said the formation and growth of APC in the state took the efforts of several loyal members, who mostly lost their lives in the struggle to ensure a solid parry structure in the state.

Nwauju said it was therefore, unfair to reward a man who piloted affairs when the party faced a lot of onslaughts in the state.

According to him, APC’s growth has been organically steady since 2015 when the party came into being.

He said APC leaders in the state, who deemed it necessary to speak so as to set the records straight, maintained that the party surpassed its votes of 2015 during the 2019 elections when Wike was governor on the ticket of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He stressed that APC experienced natural, internal growth over time, and because of the efforts of party technocrats in the state, it narrowed and eventually surpassed the lead that PDP had since 2015.

”Our growth patterns have been consistent since the 2015 presidential onslaught against Rivers APC.

”Our growth from 2015 to 2019 was 23.8 per cent, closing the huge gap of 2015 presidential election.

“Then the 2023 presidential election came in with additional 80,881 votes in favour of APC in Rivers State.

“The question is, where is the helping hand of former Gov Wike, can he claim to have helped Rivers APC with
only 80,881 votes, when our growth showed organic growth since 2019?”

The group further asked those singing Wike’s song that he helped Rivers APC, where the 1,487,075 votes he carried in 2015 in favour of PDP out of the 2,537,590 registered voters in Rivers were.

They also asked where the 472,971 votes Wike got for PDP in 2019 presidential election out of the 3,215,273
registered voters in Rivers State were.

”Can a non party man takeover a national ruling party in a state, simply because they claim to have helped the national party in his state with just 80,881 votes when such claims couldn’t be substantiated with empirical data?

“Such is the calamitous quagmire Wike, and his sponsored detractors have caused to their political dynasty.

“There is evidence to prove that Wike did not work for APC, he lost his polling unit and lost his ward.

“When he found that his political career was gone, he decided to pitch his tent with APC, just to have a comfort zone to rob APC in Rivers State.

Nwauju further cleared the air that the difference between APC performance between 2015 and 2019 was 82,000 votes. The same difference between 2019 and 2023 is 80,000 votes.

“None of his so called PDP members worked for us. Some secretly for Labour Party and others did for PDP in their respective polling units.

“These efforts are projected to result in the complete takeover of the state by the APC in 2027,” he stated

He, therefore, expressed optimism that with the combined efforts of party technocrats in Rivers, along with the able leadership of President Bola Tinubu, there would be significant progress in the nation’s growth.