The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has said the Peoples Democratic Party would collapse if he defects to the All Progressives Congress.
Wike made the statement during his end-of-year media chat in Port Harcourt on Monday while responding to questions on speculation that he might join the ruling APC.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that several of Wike’s supporters in the Rivers State House of Assembly, including Governor Siminalayi Fubara, recently defected from the PDP to the APC.
However, Wike insisted that he remains a member of the PDP and has no plans to leave the party.
“Today, if I say I want to decamp to APC, that will be the end of PDP. You will see leaders of the party in other states who will join me.
“If today I say, gentlemen, look, we have had enough of PDP, watch those who will decamp in Benue; watch those who will decamp in Plateau, in Abia, in Edo,” he said.
He added that the defection of some PDP members to the APC does not compel him to leave the party.
“But the mere fact that people have left PDP for APC does not mean I have to leave. No, it is not correct. I am still a member of PDP,” Wike said.
Commenting on the possibility of Governor Fubara taking over his political structure in Rivers State, Wike assured his supporters that his influence in the state remains intact.
He noted that Fubara’s defection to the APC does not automatically make him the leader of the party in the state, unlike what obtains in some other states.
“There are exceptions to the rule. There is nothing like 001 in the state; you register in your ward and not at the state level.
“So, if there is 001, it is in your ward, because every party member registers in his ward,” he said.
Wike further argued that leadership goes beyond holding the position of governor, stressing that certain qualities are required to command loyalty and followership.
He described Fubara’s defection as inconsequential, noting that the governor moved to the APC alone.
“If a governor is moving to another party, he moves with council chairmen, party leaders, and members of the state assembly.
“In his case, the people had already left PDP and joined APC on their own; as such, defecting to APC doesn’t guarantee him an automatic ticket for a second tenure,” Wike said.