A group, Arewa Paradigm Shift, has explained why the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, ignored his Sokoto State counterpart, Aminu Tambuwal, to invite an All Progressives Congress founding father, Senator Aliyu Wamakko, to inaugurate a project in the state, early August.
The group’s Director of Mobilisation, Alhaji Adamu Musa-Illela, in a statement in Kaduna on Saturday, explained that “Wike knows that Wamakko, being the ‘godfather’ of the North-West APC, is a more influential political figure in the North than the Sokoto state’s helmsman (Tambuwal).”
The former Sokoto State governor (Wamakko) inaugurated the Ogbum-Nu-Abali Eastern Bypass road on the invitation of Governor Wike
The group noted that in a move that took pundits by surprise, Wike chose Wamakko, snubbing Tambuwal – who is a fellow party member and agelong associate prior to the PDP presidential primary.
“Governor Wike sent a formal letter of invitation to this godfather of Sokoto politics because the Rivers helmsman knows those that matter the most politically in the North today. Wamako is a tactician that helped Buhari win the North-West in 2015 and 2019,” they noted.
The statement also noted that Wike had also declared that his performance in office was a reflection of personal capacity and passion to deliver enduring development to Rivers State people rather than affiliation to the Peoples Democratic Party.
“To be politically relevant in the North-West today, political heavyweights like Wamako are necessary alliance partners for victory,” the group declared.