Wike Denies Funding Obaseki’s Re-Election

Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has denied insinuations he bankrolled the victory of Edo Governor Godwin Obaseki, who was re-elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last Saturday.

Wike, who served as chairman of the PDP Campaign Council for the election, said Obaseki had enough fund to sponsor his election.

He spoke on Channel Television’s Sunrise Daily Programme on Friday.

The Governor, who is believed to have supported Obaseki’s re-election with finances, said: “What resources could I have deployed? He is a sitting governor. What resources can I give him that he does not have?”

He declared Obaseki, who defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to win the election, will not leave the PDP.

Wike said: “I don’t want to discuss something that is not going to be possible. However, assuming it happens, so what? That is politics.

“If the governor believes that the PDP is no longer a party for him to actualise his vision and his mission, there is nothing wrong but I don’t believe that it is going to happen because the governor has consistently told us that there is no way he will leave the PDP. If he leaves the PDP, people in Edo State will not be happy.

“And he is somebody I have that trust in that he will not leave the party. This is a party that clothed him. This is a party that when it was raining, gave him an umbrella.”