A former governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, has expressed gratitude to the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for “giving” Nyesom Wike to the Tinubu administration.

Oshiomhole, a former President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, hailed the PDP for the developmental strides of Wike and thanked the party for allowing him to serve as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, under the APC administration.

Wike, a PDP stalwart, supported Tinubu, the APC candidate, in the 2023 presidential election after a fallout with his party.

As a reward for his support for the emergence of the former Lagos State governor, the former Rivers State helmsman was appointed as the Minister of the FCT.

Oshiomhole likened this to a football club allowing its “best player” to join a rival.

“Thank you to PDP for giving us Nyesom Wike to help us fix Abuja. I don’t belong to any club; I only belong to Bendel Insurance, but I listen to those who say they are Manchester United fans [and the likes].

“When you are giving your best player to another club, you pay heavily,” the lawmaker representing Edo North said on Friday at a New Year luncheon organised by Wike in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

“Thank you for what you’re helping us in APC to do. PDP Rivers led you to us without saying we should pay a transfer fee. We may not be happy to return you; we would even create a toll gate to prevent that.

“Tonight, we are celebrating a Nigerian who is adding value to the FCT, who is showing there has to be the rule of law and that we must respect certain environmental laws.

“So, thank you for what you are doing in Nigeria; thank you for what you are doing in Abuja.”

Thank you for giving us Wike – Oshiomhole mocks PDP