Wike lost power for allowing his loyalists to decamp to APC

Wike lost power for allowing his loyalists to decamp to APC

By Richard Chibo

In politics, power is not lost only through defeat; sometimes, it is lost through miscalculation. In Rivers State, Nyesom Wike appears to have walked straight into such an error and only now is he realizing the cost.

Wike lost this political fight the moment he allowed his loyalists in the Rivers State House of Assembly to defect to the APC. At the time, it may have looked like a smart tactical move, weakening Governor Siminalayi Fubara within the PDP. But that move has since backfired spectacularly.

What Wike likely did not anticipate was Fubara’s eventual move to the APC. Today, Fubara is effectively the number one APC member in Rivers State. By pushing his Assembly loyalists into the same party, Wike unintentionally stripped them of any real leverage. They are now powerless to act against a fellow party member, especially one who enjoys federal backing.

The APC leadership will not tolerate internal sabotage against its sitting governor. Any attempt by these lawmakers to destabilize Fubara would be seen as anti-party activity. Once Fubara secures the ticket, those same lawmakers will have no choice but to work for his reelection. Politics, after all, follows party interest before personal loyalty.

Funny enough, Wike himself is not a member of the APC and realistically, he cannot join now or anytime soon. The APC already has established power blocs and influential figures. Wike’s political style thrives on dominance and control, but in the APC, he would be just another player, likely subordinate to Fubara. That is not a position Wike is known to accept.

Even if Wike were to join the APC today, he would still be constrained. Working against Fubara would amount to working against the party and by extension, against the President. That political reality effectively neutralizes him.

This explains his recent moves: travelling from one local government to another, speaking emotionally, attempting to rally sympathy. Deep down, Wike understands what is at stake. As he himself reportedly admitted, if Fubara is reelected, his political career is effectively over. And he is right.

This situation is the consequence of allowing personal ego and overconfidence to cloud strategic judgment. Rivers politics has always followed a familiar pattern: the protégé eventually grows more powerful than the godfather. Wike benefited from this same system in the past; now, he is paying its price. I feel no pity for him.

Fubara sef should also take a lesson from this episode. Power in Rivers politics is never permanent, and today’s victor can easily become tomorrow’s victim. If he attempts to impose his personal interests too much on his successor the same way Wike tried to do, he should be prepared for the same resistance and possibly the same downfall.

Rivers politics has a long memory. Successors rarely remain loyal, and godfatherism often ends in betrayal. If Sir Siminalayi Fubara repeats that pattern, history will not spare him. The system he benefits from today is the same one that could be used against him tomorrow. In Rivers State, the cycle is clear: those who impose eventually lose control.