FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has credited the late Chief Daniel Orbih as the instrument through which he became Rivers State governor in 2015, describing the PDP chieftain as a loyal ally who resisted heavy pressure and inducements to abandon his ambition.
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Wike spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at a night of tributes for Orbih, the PDP’s National Vice-Chairman for the South South, who died on August 31 at the age of 64. Orbih was from Etsako in Edo State.
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“Today I am a Minister of the FCT; yesterday I was a governor. Who did God use for me to become governor? It was Dan,” Wike said.
Wike traced their bond to the political turbulence of 2013 and 2014, when adversaries tried to derail his governorship bid. He said the then-sitting governor of Rivers sent emissaries to Orbih with extravagant offers to withdraw his support, but Orbih held firm. “There was nothing in this world that was not done to induce him,” Wike said, recalling that Orbih rejected every overture.
According to Wike, Orbih backed his campaign by donating two bulletproof Mercedes-Benz buses to bolster his security and by mobilising support across the South South.
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Wike also praised Orbih’s selflessness, saying that throughout his eight years as governor, Orbih never asked for a contract or any personal favour. “Dan is not a typical Nigerian politician. Throughout my eight years as governor, he never came for one day, either by phone or coming to my house to say, ‘I need this contract.’ Never,” he said.
He added that reliability in a politician is best measured by loyalty in times of crisis, a trait he said runs in Orbih’s family. Wike also argued that without Orbih’s role protecting the region’s interests, many current national and state lawmakers might not hold their positions today.
Wike said Orbih laid the groundwork for cross-party collaboration in Edo and supported many politicians there without benefiting himself. He insisted Orbih deserves a state burial, urged Edo stakeholders to act on it, and pledged to keep close ties with the family and discuss how to preserve Orbih’s legacy.
Senator Magnus Abe, Chairman of the Board of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, said Orbih introduced him to politics. He recalled serving as Director General of Orbih’s first campaign under the United Nigeria Congress Party, when Orbih ran for governor. “Dan was indeed a bridge builder par excellence,” Abe said.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who represents Edo North and is a former Edo governor, said Orbih made him a better governor despite their political differences. He said he often asked himself how Orbih would react before taking decisions. He also thanked Wike for reconciling the two men after a long rift, noting that they first embraced at Wike’s residence in Port Harcourt.
PDP presidential candidate Senator Sandy Onor described Orbih as “a profound public intellectual, a quintessential lover of Edo people, a defender of Edo heritage, a Nigerian patriot and a social colossus.”
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