Ahead of 2023 general election, the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu on Tuesday met with some governors of the Peoples Democratic Party in France.
Those Tinubu met are Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, and Oyo State, Engr. Oluseyi Makinde, as part of calculations towards 2023 general election which he is contesting.
The meeting which was meant to be away from the prying eyes of journalists leaked, according to multiple sources.
A news platform, Western Post however said, the politician actually met with PDP chieftains, but the meeting was held outside France.
Tinubu travelled out of Nigeria to Europe on a weeks break and was expected in London any moment from now.
According to a source, “Yes, we left Nigeria to meet with Tinubu on Monday. We initially thought it would hold in France because that was where Tinubu went the last time he left the country. We however got signal close to our time of departure that we should proceed somewhere else.
“Governors Ortom and Makinde who have been supporters of Wike from the beginning and were also on the trip,” the source told WesternPost.
The source further hinted that Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike was the prime target of the Europe meeting because of his feud with the PDP’s presidential candidate so that he can be wooed back to PDP.
“Yes, the discussion was centred on the 2023 election. The Tinubu camp know how important votes from Rivers State are and are looking for how to get Wike to work for them,” he also added.
While it may be hard for Wike to leave the PDP because of some of his followers who are already contesting for elections in the party, the Tinubu camp is expecting him to use his influence in the state to work for them and deliver Rivers State for the APC.
Since Wike lost the Peoples Democratic Party presidential primaries to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, he has rebuffed moves by party leaders to placate him.
He has also many times threatened many members of the PDP in the state who are loyal to Atiku, closing down some businesses owned by them.
Efforts to also reconcile with him have become hard, as the meetings between his camp and Atiku’s team ended in deadlock.
