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The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and his political allies, including Samuel Ortom of Benue State and Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, have travelled to London, United Kingdom again.
Team Wike fly out: The trio left the country on Friday, September 2, 2022, and are expected to be joined by their Oyo State colleague, Seyi Makinde, who is currently holidaying abroad, The Punch reported.
The London expedition: Recall that Wike and his team had travelled to the UK last week where they held series of meetings with frontline presidential candidates: All Progressives Congress (APC)'s Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party's Peter Obi.
Romance with Tinubu: There were insinuations that this latest London trip would allow the disgruntled PDP members meet with Tinubu once again to solidify their proposed alliance ahead of the 2023 presidential elections.
However, this couldn't be confirmed yet as the former Lagos State governor was still in Nigeria as of Friday night.
A source who confirmed the governors' travel to The Punch said, “Governors Wike, Ikpeazu and Ortom have flown to the United Kingdom for another round of meetings and horse-trading for the 2023 elections.
“They left on Friday and they are scheduled to hold another round of meetings with key stakeholders.”
Another source close to one of the governors also confirmed the trip.
However, Makinde's Chief Press Secretary, Taiwo Adisa, denied any knowledge of the proposed meeting but confirmed that the governor was still vacating in London and was expected back in the country this weekend.
PDP crisis festers: This comes amid the worsening crisis in the PDP over Wike's insistence that the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, should resign.
The governor has been on a warpath with the party's hierarchy following the emergence of the former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, as the PDP presidential flag bearer.
The crisis was further fueled by the decision of Atiku to choose the Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate against the recommendation of a committee that picked Wike.
The Rivers State Governor has previously held meetings with other major APC members, including; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Aliyu Wamakko; Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi; as well as the Ondo and Lagos state governors, Rotimi Akeredolu and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, among others.