Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has explained why he did not oppose the presidential candidates of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi and the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in the February 25 presidential election.
Wike said he chose not to oppose Obi and Tinubu because he is an “apostle” of power shift to the southern region of Nigeria.
The Governor stated this on Monday at the commissioning of Chokocho-Igbodo Road in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers state.
He said he owed nobody an apology for supporting the rotation of power to the south after the eight-year tenure of the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari who is from Katsina State in the North-West geopolitical zone.
Wike commended the people for voting for a southern President in the just-concluded elections.
WITHIN NIGERIA recalls that INEC declared Tinubu as President-Elect after he scored highest number of votes — 8,794,726 to beat Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
He said, “As far as I am concerned, anybody from the south, that is my position.”
According to Wike, Section 7(3)(c) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) constitution recognised zoning and rotational presidency but the leadership of the party contravened the provisions of the party’s regulations.
“I owe nobody any apology at all. I am one of the apostles, one of those who stood firm that power must rotate to the South. This is for equity, this is for fairness and this is for justice.
“Whether you voted for Labour, I have no problem with you. Whether you voted for APC, I have no problem with you. That is what we have argued for: that the north has had it for eight years. Therefore the south must be there for eight years.
“As far as I am concerned, anybody from south, that is my position. That is what we agreed in the Integrity Group that we must make sure that the south emerges as the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Each time I went for campaign, nobody has ever heard me criticise Obi. Nobody has ever heard me criticize Asiwaju. I owe nobody any apology that people voted southern presidency.”
Recall that Wike and four other PDP governors known as the G5, ahead of the 2023 elections, had demanded the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu, saying northerners should not be the PDP national chairman and presidential candidate.
Atiku and Ayu called the governors’ bluff and did not succumb to their demands in the just-concluded elections.
But, Atiku lost in all the G5 states; Obi won Enugu and Abia; while Tinubu claimed Oyo, Benue and Rivers.
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