He added that, “Wike’s planned defection will be close to the 2027 general election.” The source further claimed that the ruling APC is positioning itself to attract more influential politicians ahead of 2027 in order to weaken opposition parties.

He said this strategy would ensure that “other political parties will only have weak presidential candidates in 2027 who will not pose any serious challenge to Bola Tinubu”. Speaking further, the ally insisted that Wike’s entire political structure would move with him.

In his words, “the minister will end up in the APC with all of us who are his loyalists both in Rivers state and other parts of the country. But that will not be now. He will delay it till it gets close to the time of the election. By that time, PDP must have been thoroughly weakened and cannot challenge President Tinubu”.

He also spoke on the internal crisis within the PDP and pointed to growing rivalry among its leading figures. According to him, governors Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State are both interested in the party’s presidential ticket. He said this ambition could further divide the party.

“This is what will bring further crisis to the party because Seyi will not concede the ticket to Bala Mohammed,” he stated. He also claimed that Wike and Makinde have maintained a long political relationship. He alleged that Wike played a role in the release of N50 billion to Oyo State following a fire incident.

He said, “Seyi Makinde has been the minister’s friend for some time now. It was Wike who influenced the payment of the N50billion by the federal government when there was fire incident in Oyo state. That money was not appropriated by the Oyo state government. It was Wike that facilitated the release of the money”.

On the political crisis in Rivers State, the source addressed the impeachment moves against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu. He insisted that the process was no longer under Wike’s control.

“The whole matter is beyond the FCT Minister. The Assembly is determined more than ever before to remove the governor because he has failed in every aspect of the agreement reached,” he said. He recalled a reconciliation meeting held in Port Harcourt last year.

“I was privileged to be in the meeting called by the Minister in Port Harcourt. Fubara was invited and all of us who are allies of the minister were there. We came back together as a political family. That meeting was in September last year. Wike told Fubara to make arrangement for another meeting in October which he agreed but later reneged,” he stated. He added that the breakdown of trust followed Fubara’s failure to meet with lawmakers and address their welfare.

“It was when he refused to do those things he agreed to do like meeting with the leadership of the Assembly and paying their due allowances that Wike decided to embark on the tour of the local government areas to tell Rivers people that they were no more together,” he said. The source also revealed details surrounding the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State last year. He claimed that President Tinubu did not directly inform Wike before taking the decision.

He said, “when the state of emergency was declared in March last year, President Tinubu did not inform Wike. President called (Senator Godswill) Akpabio and informed him. The President ordered the sole administrator (Vice Admiral Etteh Ibas retired) to work with Wike”. He further alleged that the sole administrator settled outstanding issues with lawmakers.

“It was the sole administrator that paid the allowances that were owed the Assembly members. Gave them cars and paid for constituency projects. Sim has not paid them anything. He refused to implement the things he promised he would do for them,” he said. Meanwhile, the FCT Minister has repeatedly praised President Tinubu’s leadership and defended his administration’s policies, fueling speculation of his full alignment with the APC ahead of 2027.