The All Progressives Congress (APC) chapter in Rivers State is uneasy about the atypical relationship that has developed between Bola Tinubu, the party's incoming president, and Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State.
Before Tinubu's inauguration as president and the creation of his cabinet in six months, the development is upsetting APC members.
The Governor is alleged to have worked for the national ruling party during the 2023 presidential election, in opposition to his own political party, the Peoples Democratic Party.
The rumours that the governor will soon join the ruling party have been strengthened as a result of this.
Prior to the PDP's May 2022 presidential primary election, Wike was the party's most dependable and powerful leader.
Nigerians won't quickly forget the Governor's pledge to support the party during voting at the convention held at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja.
Then he declared: "I promise now that whoever emerges here will have my complete support since I am a devoted member of the party. I've been attending this party since 1998, and I'm not leaving.
But immediately following the primaries, the Governor engaged in a protracted conflict with the PDP's national leadership and the party's chosen presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, bringing four other governors along for the ride to form what was later known as G5..
After the elections, he went a step further by inviting Tinubu to oversee projects in the oil-rich State.
However, on the same number of instances that Tinubu has visited Rivers State, either as a presidential candidate or as the President-elect, Chibuike Amaechi, a former governor of the State who finished second in the party's presidential election in June 2022, has been notably absent.
One of the politicians, Wike, questioned what achievements of President Buhari would serve as the foundation for the campaigns of candidates like Bola Tinubu.
According to Wike, Nigerians are suffering under the APC's mismanagement, which has stymied the country's economy and exacerbated famine.
After the election, he went one step farther by inviting Tinubu to oversee projects in the oil-rich Start.
"It is really terrible," he stated at the time, "when I hear people declare [intention to run for president] under the APC and say they want to carry on Mr. President's wonderful work—the good work of people dying every day and the good work of the naira plummeting every day.
"I feel so sorry that we have descended to the level of sycophancy where people may approach and declare that they want to carry on Buhari's good work. What are Buhari's achievements in combating hunger, poverty, insecurity, and a faltering economy?
"I find it unfathomable that someone would declare publicly that they wanted to pick up where Mr. Buhari left off in the Nigeria of today. May God never permit such kind of evil to persist.
But during the presidential election, all of that changed.
Wike has demonstrated via words and deeds that he stood firmly behind Tinubu before, during, and after the elections, despite being accused of rigging the poll in favour of the APC candidate.
Wike's actions are seen by APC members in the State as a plan to be nominated minister when his term expires on May 29.
During his recent visit to Rivers State, Tinubu praised the governor for helping pave the way for his ascent, particularly by undermining the PDP.
The governor prevented the PDP from microzoning the ticket before to the PDP primary because he recognised the South East would receive a larger share of the vote. The governor claimed to be working for the Southern presidency.
Former PDP spokesman and leader of the APC in the South South, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, commented on these developments in a statement to the Bendelnews. He said, "Gov. Wike, though a friend, is a very confused and drowning fellow looking for whatever he can hold to survive, but the future will undoubtedly determine his fate.
"Anyone worrying about Wike and his brand of politics probably has nothing more important to do, so I wouldn't like to waste my time on them to talk about a drowning man...
"Nigerians and the rest of the world are fully aware of Wike's position on Buhari, Tinubu, and the APC. If they believe that Wike would save them after all that Amaechi gave up to build the APC, I wish them luck. No matter what, God will unquestionably judge all of our deeds.
Eze stated, "Both I and Amaechi and other members of his political family have passed the stage of connecting our fate to that of any human person. This is especially true if Wike decides to defect to the APC. For Wike and his cronies to decide our political future will be an insult to us and our God. They lack such abilities.
For your knowledge, Wike is not currently a part of any political party. Despite his lack of guilt, they are conscious that they are politically orphans, and I wish him success if he decides to join the APC.
"I must admit that I am enjoying the current course of events because it is revealing the lack of moral fibre in some of our so-called leaders, but let us not be discouraged because God has great plans for this nation,"
The party chairman continued, "You are forcing me to give Wike the prominence that he doesn't deserve. Wike has denied working for Tinubu and has insisted that all he sought was the president of the South.
"Wike is the most self-centered politician from Nigeria you can imagine in this administration. He doesn't have anyone's or the area's best interests in mind.
"Everything revolves around him. He drove Obi mad and forced him to leave the PDP in the hopes of taking over as party boss, but Atiku disabused him and turned him into the whiny man he is today.
"Wike will be extremely disappointed because Tinubu and his camp are already planning how to get rid of his nuisance scheme," says Tinubu. "Tinubu knew that Wike never worked for him."
When asked why Amaechi has remained mute regarding what many would perceive as his political party's marginalisation, Eze responded, "What specifically do you want Amaechi to speak about what is happening with Tinubu, APC and Wike.
"I've told myself to be silent and observe how Amaechi is being undermined by this romance. I will reveal to Nigerians when and how this diabolical scheme was developed at the opportune moment.
"From what little I know of Amaechi and his political philosophy, it appears that he has never had a personal strategy. Because God is the one who makes the plans for him, when God wants him to act, he will do so, and Nigeria and Nigerians will know that no matter the circumstances, it is impossible to overthrow God's anointed one. They congregate in vain because God will never approve of their assembly.
"I appeal to us all to exercise patience as we will soon address some of the issues agitating Nigerians' minds and the future of Amaechi and his political family."