Nyesom Wike has expressed surprise and disappointment over the defection of 17 Rivers Assembly members to the APC, insisting he remains a committed PDP member and was never consulted about the move.
“They never told me,” he said bluntly, adding, “but they have a right.”
The former Rivers State governor described the mass defection as “unfortunate” but maintained that the lawmakers were constitutionally free to leave, citing the deep factionalisation within the PDP.
“The party is fully factionalised. When a party is factionalised, the Constitution allows members to leave,” Wike explained.
READ ALSO: Rivers Assembly Members’ Defection Unfortunate, Lawmakers Free To Leave PDP — Wike
He revealed that out of the 27 PDP-aligned lawmakers originally loyal to him, only about 10 remain in the party, stressing that he and the remaining members will continue to work together.
“I’m still in the PDP. Those who have remained, we’ll continue to work together,” he affirmed.
Wike urged the national leadership of the PDP to urgently resolve its internal crisis, warning that failure to do so would only weaken the party further.
“If you don’t put your house in order, it’s the party that will lose,” he cautioned.
Earlier on Friday, Speaker Martin Amaewhule led 16 other lawmakers in formally announcing their defection to the APC during plenary, citing irreconcilable divisions within the PDP at the national level as their reason.
Amaewhule declared the defectors’ readiness to support Bola Tinubu, stating that the Tinubu“means well for the country.”
