The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, Tony Okocha, has said FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike will never leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), describing him as an ?ardent believer? of the party.

He disclosed this to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja, stating Wike is not a member of the APC.

Okocha said, ?Wike will never leave the opposition party. He has always said that the PDP made him what he is. He has always said that he would remain there.

?Wike will never leave the PDP. He is an ardent believer in the PDP. He is not likely to leave that group.?

He also stated that the 27 Rivers lawmakers, who are currently in a political struggle with Governor Siminalayi Fubara, are also not members of the APC.

?People say Wike has decamped to the APC. They also say that the 27 lawmakers currently fighting with Fubara have defected to the APC. I need to make this clear to everyone. Much as I wish to have them in my fold, none of them has agreed to join us.

?I am the one who should know if they did. But, clearly, they have not. What the lawmakers did was a political gimmick. I tried to woo them, but they kept vacillating and did not.

?To defect, they must go to their wards, register, and obtain their membership cards. None of them has done that,? he said.

He, however, stated that Wike is a member of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

?In Rivers, I am 001 in the APC, but in the Renewed Hope Agenda, I am 002. Wike is 001,? he said.

He also spoke about Wike?s influence on Rivers? politics.

?Wike has done so much for Rivers, so he is strong. In the next 10 years, Wike will continue to influence the political direction in Rivers.

?It will be difficult to uproot him. Aside from his many projects scattered throughout the state, he has touched people?s lives directly. Such people will always be behind him,? Okocha said. (Nigerian Tribune)