Twenty-seven lawmakers in the Rivers State House of Assembly, known to be loyal to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike, have dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The factional members of the Assembly hinged their move on been deprived of funds by the state governor..
The cross-carpetting signals another phase in the political showdown between the Minister and his successor, Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
During their own plenary in Port Harcourt on Monday, the 27 lawmakers announced they were leaving the ruling party in the state.
Recall that the lawmakers, under the leadership of former Speaker, Martin Amaehwule, had made a move weeks ago to impeach the state governor, but the former leader of the Assembly, sacked by his colleagues as leader, in a counter move, backed by the governor’s camp thwarted the plot.
Since the political crisis, believed to be fuelled by a minister, began, there has been tension in the state, while Wike is known to be bitter over plants to dismantle the political empire he built.
Wike has often been accused of working against the interest of the PDP, a party on which platform he ruled Rivers State for eight years; but he worked against the interest of its presidential candidate in last February’s election, Atiku Abubakar, rooting instead for eventual winner, President Bola Tinubu. It is not clear if he is with PDP or APC, the ruling party at the centre he works under as Minister.