THE Governor of Ebonyi State, David Umahi, has urged the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, to integrate some highly placed opposition members into his administration, including Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.
Umahi made the remarks on Monday at commissioning of the remodelled Community Secondary School, Okoro Nu Odo, in the Obio/Akpor Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State.
The governor highlighted the role Wike, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), played in the election of Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, popularly referred to as Jagaban; and his running mate Kashim Shettima.
“God, directly and indirectly, made Governor Wike very much available, and so there is no way APC can conclude about the success of the election without mentioning Governor Wike,” the Ebonyi governor said.
“And we will be asking Asiwaju/Shettima to please bring Governor Wike to the core administration of the Federal Government. He has a lot to offer for the unity of the country.”
According to Umahi, in the wake of the general elections, politics should be placed on the back burner to allow for national unity. “It’s about how to move this country forward. It’s about how to reunite our people,” he added.
In a seemingly tongue-in-cheek remark, Umahi also extended his appreciation to the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, for “working for” Tinubu’s election.
The jibe comes amid an ongoing crisis in the fractured PDP, which saw Wike and four other PDP governors insist on Ayu’s resignation in order for them to support the PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar ahead of the election.’
Their grouse was over the lack of “fairness, equity and justice” resulting from the party’s zoning principle.
“I want to also thank very highly the suspended chairman of PDP,” Umahi said in an apparent jab at Ayu‘s recent sanction by the Benue State chapter of his party for alleged anti-party activities.
“He did very well because he had accepted to resign, it would have been very difficult for the APC. So, he’s our man and I commend him very well.
“And I’m begging Wike – they should lift his suspension, so that he can suspend many more of your leaders.
“We love what he has done, and so we commend him. And I think Asiwaju must know that he worked for him and must also integrate him in the next administration.”