Wike, Makinde flay PDP members’ stance on election of NASS principal officers

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and his Oyo State counterpart, Oluseyi Makinde, have described the voting pattern of some Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in the election of National Assembly principal as “anti-party”.

According to the PDP governors, a situation where federal lawmakers act contrary to the party’s position calls for grave concern.

The governors expressed this view yesterday when they met at Brick House, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Wike said he was not jolted by the crisis that engulfed the House of Representatives on Wednesday when two PDP members, Kingsley Chinda (Rivers) and Ndudi Elumelu (Delta), claimed they were nominees for the House minority leader.

Having earlier accused some PDP members of working against the party’s interest in the election of senate principal officers, Wike reaffirmed yesterday that some House of Representatives members too had not been showing loyalty to the party.

“I am not surprised. When you have traders and merchants, what do you expect? It is unfortunate for those who do not understand what politics is all about. I am a core party man. I believe in the party,” he said.

He lauded Governor Makinde for the visit.

According to him, peer review is necessary to advance the course of development across the states of the federation.

“I am happy for this visit. We shall reciprocate the visit at the appropriate time. It is good for us to continue to compare notes to learn best practices from each other,” he added.

Makinde described as worrisome the rowdy section that characterised the green chamber on Wednesday.

“We all saw what happened at the National Assembly [on Wednesday]. They are things that call for concern. If the party takes a position on certain things, we want to ensure that, that is carried through,” he said.

The governor explained that he was in Rivers to also discuss true federalism and the role of states in the development process.

He commended Wike for the developmental strides during his first term, while expecting him to deliver more projects in the next four years.

Wike’s giant strides during his first term is worthy of emulation, he added.