Political analysts have expressed amazement over the series of talks which Governor Nyesom Wike has held with presidential candidates of the three major political parties in the run up to the 2023 polls, noting that whatever his game plan is may backfire if he is not careful.

The analysts argue that Wike may be a victim of his ongoing brinkmanship which seem at present to give him much relevance in the current political realignments.

Recently, Wike has played host to the representatives or presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu; the Labour Party, Peter Obi (along with former president, Olusegun Obasanjo), and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.

Bishop Funso Awe, the 2019 governorship candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP), maintained that right now nobody knows what Wike is doing and where he is standing.

Awe, now the Bishop of the Orthodox Anglican Church, Lagos Mainland Diocese, stated: “We were told he would be meeting with Tinubu in London only for pictures of him and Obi alongside Obasanjo and some of other PDP governors to surface.

“While we are still digesting that, we saw him meeting with Atiku. I am sure he will still meeting with Tinubu (he reportedly did). Wike at the moment, to me, is not politically stable.

“He thinks he is a desirable proverbial beautiful bride. I want to warn those dinning with him to do so with a very long spoon. He might turn out to be a Judas.

“In Nigeria we have a history of several former governors, who after their tenure, end up in prison and lose political relevance.”

Barrister Emeka Iheonu, a member of the African Bar Associations, in his reaction, said: “I really cannot guess the game Governor Wike is playing, or is about to play. Many Nigerian politicians are most times unpredictable.

“I cannot predict the governor’s future plans. However, I feel that he and Atiku are likely to settle.

As at today (Thursday), the news is that Atiku and Wike are in London and are scheduled to meet.

So, there may be a positive outcome from the meeting. Comrade Kunle Wizeman Ajayi, former Lagos State Chairman of African Action Congress (AAC); “What is happening justifies the fact that APC, PDP, and the new LP are all fingers of the same leprous ruling class. “All they chase is greed and power.

Wike knows that any of either party is home. Whatever his game, what I know is that the centre of these terrible managers of a rotten system cannot hold any longer.

Things are falling apart!” Hon. Charles Anike, National President of Eastern Union (EU), said: “The crisis currently in the PDP confirms our earlier statement some time ago that the party is irredeemable.

“l will like to reference the ever vital statement of late Chief MKO Abiola that ‘Any society that does not do justice will never know peace, except the peace of the grave yard’.

“This is exactly the case of the PDP as it stands now. A little back to recent history, because, we featured prominently and participated in the 2019 PDP presidential primary held at Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

“I remember that there was no one Southerner that contested in that election, with the understanding that it was the turn of the North to produce the party flag bearer.

“Then, how come that in this dispensation the Northerners could not control their insatiable appetite for power, but rather advanced various reasons on why a Northern is the best to be the flag bearer? “Since they feel that only a candidate from the north can win presidential election for the party, why are they jittery over Wike’s romance with APC? “When a man is overtaken by greed and inordinate ambition, he can do anything. Therefore, run away from such a person, because he can do anything.

“Now, coming back to the 2023 presidential primary, it was obvious that Wike was robbed and was conspired against.

Having successfully conspired and robbed Wike of his clear chance of clinging the party’s presidential ticket, they still went ahead to set up a committee to select between Wike and Okowa, who will be Atiku’s running mate.

“Why would Atiku undermine the committee’s recommendation which reportedly favoured Wike? In this case, why would anyone blame Wike for his actions? “Coming to Wike’s romance with the members of the APC, he is simply digging the grave of his political career.

The APC is like a drowning man who will not like to go down alone, but will rather look for people to drown with him.

“Gov. Wike is not a child in politics or a stranger in Nigeria to know that no matter what, Nigerians of all ages, all religion and all walks of life has rejected the APC. “Wike may be deceived to think that his present popularity will remain forever.

No, not at all. I assure him that his present contact and interactions with the APC will soon diminish his popularity and goodwill of the people of Rivers State he is currently enjoying.

“Presently, the name APC and everyone associated to it is leprous and deadly infectious. Gov. Wike should be advised by those who genuinely love his progress and political future.

“He should either find a way to suppress his grievances to mend fences with his party, or he should find a way to support his Brother, Mr. Peter Obi, whose influence is growing like wide fire.

“That of course, will endear him to the Nigerian youths who have sworn to take back our country through the Obi Presidency.

That will also show that he genuinely want the progress of Nigeria. “Gov. Wike must understand that going with both PDP and APC is the biggest risk of his political career, because either way, he should be ready for a big shocker.

His experience with Gov. Aminu Tambuwal should be a big lesson that charity is always better to begin at home.”

Hon. Dennis Adikwuru, a PDP chieftain, said: “Honestly speaking, there is no abnormal crisis in PDP being aftermath of the presidential primaries.

APC is having its own crisis, so also other political parties. “The only issue with PDP’s dimension is Wike’s belligerent nature, which he overplays in everyday life of his.

“Wike was not the only presidential aspirant with Atiku. There were others, even from his South South zone, and equally governors like him.

“Going to Peter Obi and to Tinubu, still snubbing entireties from Atiku does not place Wike as a good player of the political game.

“He has over reacted, over stretched the crisis and unnecessarily over heated the polity. Everybody knows that Wike cannot form an alliance with Tinubu, neither will he do such with Peter Obi.

“I think going to PDP opponents is just to draw attention of and intimidate PDP into accepting his terms of resolution of the crisis. It may work out for him and it may also not work out for him.

“But one thing is certain under a democratic setting, and that is the supremacy of the party over an individual or group of individuals.

Adikwuru, a seasoned politician in Imo State, continued: “Any day Wike overruns his bounds and the party’s axe falls on him that will mark the end of his sojourn with PDP and heaven will not fall.

“Wike is not the entire Rivers electorate, not even the entire political gladiators in Rivers State. So, I believe in a short while, all these blabbing and recalcitrance from Wike will come to an end as I see him not in a hurry to leave PDP.”

Mallam Shakirudeen Olofin, former Lagos State Chairman of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), maintained that politics is always about self-interest.

According to him, “a politicians would always board a bus that has is Interest and such Interest is well protected.”

Hon. Olofin stressed: “Having said the above, the executive governor of Rivers State having various meetings with the ruling party is not surprising in Nigeria politics.

“An average Nigeria politician would always stab the political party that gave him or her an opportunity to serve whenever his interest was being challenged.

“The governor understands the feelings outside elective office and more in the level he had played. He needs a rescuer.

Therefore, he can dine and wine with the ruling party to protect him after office. Until we put a permanent stop to cross carpeting in our political circle, we will not enjoy the true democracy.”

Dr. Andrews Okhirebhu, a political analyst, asked: “Did you say hobnobbing? Well, politicians are always hobnob.

Certainly that is what politics is all about anyway, fraternising and chess moving the direction of their personal cards of interest they feel might favour them in the long run.

“Sometimes, the game of their permutation plays out in their favours and some other times, their game crash; their calculations become their political woes or pains.

Sincerely, you cannot rule out the consociate factor in politicking like in other social human activities.

“There is hype and tension in the issue of Governor Wike, who is an important member of PDP, meeting with members of the APC at this very crucial time seems to be sending a very critical concern and dangerous note at that, to the PDP party.

“Wike is doing all these because of the fall-out in PDP primary, which he feels he was cheated. We do not really know what his game now is, whether he is out for revenge or payback, or looking into the future of his political relevance and safety.

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