Abe Links Loyalty to Tinubu with Support for Wike After Key Appointment

Newly appointed Chairman of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Magnus Abe, has stated that genuine loyalty to President Bola Tinubu is incompatible with opposing the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

In a statement on Tuesday, the former senator thanked President Tinubu for his appointment, which he described as a demonstration of the President’s reward for loyalty and competence. He also expressed gratitude to Wike, whom he credited as instrumental to Tinubu’s electoral victory in Rivers State.

Abe referred to Wike as the “001 of the Tinubu political family in Rivers State,” praising him for delivering the state in a difficult election. “No one can claim to love Mr President and be ungrateful to our ‘Mr Project’,” Abe stated.

The comments are widely seen as a pointed message in the context of the ongoing political rift in Rivers State between Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

Abe, a former ally of ex-Governor Rotimi Amaechi, has increasingly aligned himself with Wike’s camp since the 2023 elections, a move that helped secure Rivers State for the APC. He concluded his statement by urging support for the President’s reform agenda and expressing optimism for the country’s future.