APC denies inclusion of Wike in campaign councils, PDP evaluates response

The National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), led by Abdullahi Ganduje, has dismissed the list of National Campaign Councils originally attributed to the party for the upcoming governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi states.

Party spokesperson Felix Morka issued a statement on Tuesday night, saying,  “The attention of the All Progressives Congress has been drawn to National Campaign Council Lists for November 11, 2023 Governorship Elections in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo states in circulation in sections of the media. The lists are not official documents of the Party and should be disregarded.”

Earlier on Tuesday, the APC had announced the formation of three National Campaign Councils for the upcoming governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi. Notably, Nyesom Wike, a prominent member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, appeared as the sixth name on the Bayelsa list, a move that drew attention due to his existing position within the PDP’s campaign council for the same elections.

This incident is not the first of its kind for the APC, as in 2022, the party had included a high-ranking member of the PDP, Senator Chimaroke Nnamani, in its Presidential Campaign Council, only to retract the decision shortly afterward.

In the newly revealed campaign council lists, Governor Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe State was appointed to lead the Bayelsa Campaign Council, while Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State will head the Imo Campaign Council, and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State will chair the Kogi Campaign Council. Other notable figures were also named as co-chairmen for these councils.

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On the other hand, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) finds itself at a crossroads as it grapples with the unexpected involvement of Wike, one of its leaders, in the activities of the rival APC.

Party officials are currently deliberating on how to address what many consider a stark case of anti-party actions exhibited by a party leader. The situation has taken an even more startling turn with Wike’s prominent role in the National Campaign Council of the APC, despite his prior appointment to the PDP’s National Campaign Council for the same elections on August 2, 2023.

The development has left the PDP facing difficult decisions on how to respond to Wike’s open alignment with the opposition party, which could potentially undermine the PDP’s electoral efforts.