How Orbih refused Amaechi’s offer to abandon my gov bid – Wike

By Omeiza Ajayi ABUJA: Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, has disclosed that the late Chief Daniel Orbih turned down every inducement from the then Governor of Rivers State, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, to withdraw his support for Wike’s governorship ambition. Wike spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at a night of tributes in honour of Orbih, the former National Vice-Chairman (South South) of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP, who died on August 31 at the age of 64. “There was nothing in this world that was not done to induce him.

My governor then sent people to Dan, offered him everything in this world, but Dan stood firm and said, ‘No, I will not accept, I will not agree,'” the minister said. Wike traced their bond to the turbulent period between 2013 and 2014, when he said political adversaries made desperate attempts to derail his ambition. “Today I am a Minister of the FCT; yesterday I was a governor.

Who did God use for me to become governor? He said Orbih, as South South National Vice-Chairman of the PDP, backed his campaign by donating two bulletproof Mercedes-Benz buses for his security and mobilising massive structural support across the region. The minister also spoke of Orbih’s selflessness, saying the late politician never sought personal gain, patronage or government contracts throughout Wike’s eight years as governor.

“Dan is not a typical Nigerian politician. Throughout my eight years as governor, he never came for one day, either by phone or coming to my house to say, ‘I need this contract.’ Never,” he said. According to Wike, loyalty ran in Orbih’s family.

“The only way I can identify a politician that is reliable is when that politician has stood in times of crisis. Loyalty, commitment to friendship, and being a brother’s keeper run in Dan’s family,” he said. Wike stressed that without Orbih’s strength as National Vice-Chairman protecting the region’s interests, many current national and state lawmakers would not have attained their positions.

He noted that Orbih laid the foundation for cross-party collaboration in Edo State and supported many politicians there without benefiting from it. He insisted that Orbih deserves a state burial for his contribution to political developments in Edo and urged stakeholders from the state to act on it. “I will continue to keep my relationship with Dan’s family.