By Kamil OpeyemiThe All Progressive Congress on Tuesday named Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike as a member of the Bayelsa State Governorship Campaign Council.
This comes after the Peoples Democratic Party, Wike’s original party, had appointed him as a member of the same council for Imo State.
In the list released by the Organising Secretary of the party Amb. Sulaiman Argungu, Wike’s name comes 6th on the list of the campaign council which also has Inuwa Yahaya as the Chairman.
Wike is yet to renounce his membership of the PDP on the platform of which he was elected as Governor for 8 years in Rivers state.
Wike had also contested for the presidential nomination of the party last year.
He had fallen out with the party after he believed he was rigged out of the primaries.
Recall that INEC had fixed governorship polls in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo for November this year.
“The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), H. E. Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, CON, in consultation with the National Working Committee (NWC), has approved the composition of the Bayelsa State National Gubernatorial Campaign Council with the primary purpose of leading the Gubernatorial Campaign in Bayelsa State and ensuring the triumph of our great Party at the November 11, 2023 Governorship election,” the APC said in a circular.
Wike, who is a member of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was recently sworn in as a minister by President Bola Tinubu.
The APC also listed Gombe Governor Inuwa Yahaya as the chairman of the party’s governorship campaign council in Bayelsa with Defence Minister, Abubakar Badaru; Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, as co-chairmen.
The Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun will lead the 135-member campaign council for the Kogi Governorship election.
The council has three co-chairmen – Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, his Niger State counterpart, Umar Bago, and Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State.
For the Imo election, the APC named Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State as the chairman of the council.
The co-chairmen are the governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru; Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu; and Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.