A former Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Godswill Orubebe, on Thursday, met the Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.
Orubebe who had in apparent loyalty to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President Goodluck Jonathan, on March 31st, 2015, disrupted proceedings at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) collation centre in Abuja.
He acted to forestall the admission of election results from the states favourable to the emergence of Buhari as president-elect. Orubebe, was appointed a substantive minister on April 6, 2010, when Jonathan constituted his new cabinet as the acting president.
Orubebe resigned his membership of the Peoples Democratic Party this week met with Wike behind closed doors at his private residence in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, but none of them spoke to journalists after the meeting.
In his resignation letter addressed to the National Chairman of the Party, the former Minister said the present situation in the party does not inspire confidence that the party is ready to regain power in 2023 because the party disregarded its constitutional provisions and threw the zoning of the Presidency open, which created a situation that led to the emergence of a Northerner as the party’s presidential candidate, thus making the two topmost positions in the party, after the emergence of another northerner as the National Chairman.
Orubebe’s visit to Wike comes three days after he announced his departure from the party in a letter dated June 20 and addressed to the PDP National Chairman, Senator lyorchia Ayu.
Following Atiku’s success in flying the PDP flag, many believed Wike would be considered the vice-presidential candidate of the party.
However, Atiku considered Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate, even as the opposition party strategises to wrest power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
As part of reconciliatory moves, the PDP presidential candidate set up a committee to pacify Wike so that the party can be fully set for next year’s general election.
Although the Rivers governor had vowed not to exit the party, he has been holding a series of meetings with top politicians in Port Harcourt recently.
Governor Wike had in the past days received top political figures at his private residence in Port Harcourt.
