Speaking during a media chat with select television stations in Port Harcourt, on Thursday, Wike said he owes nobody an apology to have hosted the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in Port Harcourt.
THEWILL earlier reported that Governor Wike, on Wednesday, received Tinubu at the Rivers State Government House in Port Harcourt.
Tinubu, who visited Wike after the APC presidential campaign rally at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium, was accompanied by his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu and the Governors of Lagos, Ebonyi and Kebbi States, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Dave Umahi and Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, respectively as well as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva and former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi.
Wike had fell out with Atiku in 2022 after the former Vice President emerged as the presidential candidate of the PDP in May.
The rift between them subsequently led to the formation of G-5 Governors, who are aggrieved members of the PDP.
Self-styled integrity group, the G-5, led by Wike, has Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) as members.
The aggrieved PDP Governors had pulled out of the campaign of Atiku, giving the resignation of Senator Iyioricha Ayu, as National Chairman as a condition for them to return.
In a chat with newsmen on Thursday, Wike said the timeframe for resolving the grievance of the G5 is “over” and he is “not ready to sit down with anybody again”.
When asked about the possibility of a last-minute deal with Atiku, Wike said that he was not ready to sit with anybody again, saying the possibility of any deal can’t happen again.
“No, we can’t do that; it’s over! We have said it and there is nothing anybody can do about it now. They believe they can win the election. I am not ready to sit down with anybody again,” he said.
Wike said he has informed the residents of Rivers of his preferred presidential candidate and that the people are ready to vote for the individual.
While the Governor, however, failed to mention the name of the candidate, THEWILL reported that Wike had directed his allies, including aides and Council Chairmen to facilitate moves to convey his endorsement of Tinubu to their followers.
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