Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, said residents of Rivers State voted Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as President-elect for quality, unity over political sentiment.
El-Rufai has thanked Governor Nyesom Wike and Rivers State residents for contributing to the emergence of Tinubu, adding that the February 25 election marked the first time in 16 years that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed to get 25 percent votes in Rivers State.
He attributed the feat to Wike, whom he said, led his people to choose quality and unity over political sentiment.
He stated these while inaugurating the Eneka-Igbo Etche Link Road constructed by the Wike-led administration in Obio-Akpo Local Government Area.
Stressing that Nigeria belongs to all citizens, the Kaduna State governor said the decision of APC governors to support power shift to the South was based on their belief in one Nigeria.
El-Rufai said: “I want on behalf of our President-Elect and our party to thank you(Wike) and the good people of Rivers State for making the right choice in voting for Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
“It is the first time since 1999 that PDP was unable to get 25 per cent in Rivers. It shows that the people of Rivers can differentiate and they know when to vote for quality and they voted for quality over political sentiment. We want to thank you for providing that leadership, Governor Wike.
“This country belongs to all of us and we have a duty to do all that it takes to make Nigeria an egalitarian, progressive and prosperous country. You have done a lot in Rivers to give every Nigerian living here a sense of belonging. We are grateful to you for that.
“I want to assure you on behalf of the Northern APC governors that stood up and insisted that after eight years of(Muhammadu) Buhari, power must shift to the South was an act not only of belief in one Nigeria but also of enlightened self-interest.
“This country has the potential to lead the African continent and indeed the black race but only when Nigerian leaders come together and do what is best for the majority of our people. This is what the Northern APC governors stood for.
“This is what we believe Governor Wike stands for and this is part of the reasons that I am here to extend our hand of fellowship to Governor Nyesom Wike and the people of Rivers State for us to continue to work together as brothers and sisters to make Nigeria a better place for everyone no matter our religion, ethnicity, tribe or creed”.
El-Rufai charged Wike’s successors to toe the same path of not only building on the outgoing governor’s achievements but also building bridges across the Niger.
“We are happy to be invited here and hope your successor will continue to build not only on your achievements on the ground but in maintaining that handshake across the River Niger with our own successors in Kaduna, Kano and other states in northern Nigeria,” he said.
The governor commended Wike for transforming Rivers through infrastructure and making heavy investments in health, education and job creation.
He said: “Rivers is a blessed state in many ways and it is clear that under you the resources of this state are being used for the benefit of the people of the state. As you rightly pointed out we may be from different parties but we share many things in common.
“We are Nigerians and we believe in Nigeria. We are governors and we belong to the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF). In our forum, we try to learn from one another. We have a clear mechanism in which we draw lessons. For me it is important we visit Rivers State to see the lessons we can learn from your efforts on infrastructural transformation and human capital development.
“It is my pleasure to be here. I am happy that I came after the elections so that no political connotations will be attributed to this visit. The elections are over and the elected leaders have the duty to serve the people.”.
Wike said the presidential election was about the protection of Nigeria’s unity and that of Rivers State.
He thanked El-Rufai and other APC governors for their stance on the power shift to the South.
Addressing El-Rufai, he said: “Your Excellency, let me use the opportunity to thank you immensely and members of your team, particularly you governors from the north under the APC.
“When it matters most in this country when Nigerians were talking about unity; how this country will be united and progressive, people like you came out boldly and spoke out for the unity of this country.
”It is important that the presidency having stayed in the north for eight years should move to the south and you stood firm. You were not personal about it because what you were talking about was the interest of Nigeria.”
Wike stated that persons from the North, who supported Southern Presidency had the selfish option of using their numerical strength to oppress the rest of the country.
He said: ”You (El-Rufai) would have, as well, coming from a zone that is highly populated, said this is my second tenure, I’m leaving, I’m going to throw in my weight to contest for the presidential election, but you said no, let it move to the south.
“I want to use this opportunity to thank you on behalf of the government and people of Rivers State. The unity of Nigeria matters and I assure you that history will be on your side tomorrow when the unity of Nigeria will be discussed.”
The governor explained that what mattered to him the most was the fact that Rivers supported Southern Presidency.”
“Here (Rivers), we supported the president from the South. I don’t want to say who we voted for, the results show. I don’t know who took first, I don’t know who took second. But it is important to know that the people of the State supported the Southern Presidency”.