The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has revealed details of a past conversation with the 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Pastor Tonye Cole.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Wike claimed that Cole approached him shortly after his political rift with Governor Siminalayi Fubara became public. According to Wike, Cole indicated interest in working with him and dismissed loyalty to former Rivers governor and APC chieftain, Rotimi Amaechi.
Wike recounted:
“Immediately Tonye Cole saw that me and Fubara had issues, he came to my house, we sat at my swimming pool side. He said he has come so that we can work together. I asked him what about his loyalty to Amaechi, he said he doesn’t care about Amaechi and Amaechi cannot tell him what to do. Imagine such a character.”
The FCT Minister also dismissed Cole’s recent remarks about him as “confusing,” saying they were not on the same level in politics.
Meanwhile, Tonye Cole, while speaking on Channels Television’s Morning Brief, compared Rivers State to Lagos, stating that the two states were once at par but have now drifted apart. He attributed Rivers’ decline to poor governance and regressive politics.
The latest exchange adds to the heated political climate in Rivers State, where the rivalry between Wike, Governor Fubara, and opposition figures continues to shape political alignments ahead of 2027.
