The All Progressives Congress, APC, has commenced talks with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State ahead of the 2023 elections.

An APC chieftain, Farouk Aliyu, said the party wants Wike’s backing during the next general elections.

Wike and his camp have been at loggerheads with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership since the party’s presidential primaries.

The governor had lost the PDP’s presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar and has been calling for the removal of Iyorchia Ayu as the party’s National Chairman.

However, Aliyu said the APC was ready to receive Wike as a new member ahead of the next general election.

Aliyu disclosed this on Channels Television’s Politics Today last night.

He said: “We are talking to Wike. We are talking to so many of them. Of course, it is politics. So, we are not enemies of Wike, and he is a very important person in this country – a governor for that matter – and you cannot ignore Rivers State.

“So, if Wike decides to come to us, we would gladly welcome him, and I can confirm to you that we are talking to him.”

Meanwhile, Wike endorsed Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State for a second term on Tuesday.

Sanwo-Olu is a member of the APC, a move that has further deepened the PDP crisis.