Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said Bayelsa State governor, Duoye Diri, owes him thanks for opening his eyes about the crisis that has destroyed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Diri, who was the chairman of the zoning committee of the PDP, defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, amid huge celebration at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa.
The governor was welcomed into the party by Vice President, Kashim Shettima, alongside other top APC chieftains and several governors from the South-east and South-south.
Speaking on Monday during an appearance on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, Wike took aim at Douye Diri. He said the governor once vowed never to allow the PDP fall.
“Diri has said he has left PDP, and I’m one of the happiest persons today,” he said.
“The same him and Makinde said they would not allow anybody to destroy the PDP and fall to the gutter. Who has entered the gutter today?”
Wike accused Diri of hypocrisy, saying he once branded others “undertakers” trying to bury the PDP but has now joined the APC.
“If I heard what he said, he claimed that some people came into the party as undertakers,” Wike said.
“I didn’t just come into the party; I have been a bona fide member since 1998.”
The minister recounted his political journey, noting that he began his career as a local government chairman and later served as governor of Rivers for eight years.
“When Diri was in PDP, he was one of those who said I was working for APC to destroy PDP,” Wike said.
“He was the chairman of the zoning committee of the party.”
The former Rivers governor also said Diri should be grateful for his defection.
“If he were to say I am working with APC, Diri should come to me and say, ‘Thank you, master,’” Wike said.
“He should pay me and say, ‘Thank you for opening my eyes to see the light,’ if he were true.”
