The Rivers state governor, Nyesom Wike thanked Nigerians for supporting the return of power to the Southern part of Nigeria.
Wike, a Governor serving under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the issue of the rotational presidency has been settled for good with the emergence of a President-Elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is from the southern region of the country.
Wike stated this on Friday, March 3, 2023, when he joined his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde to commission the Oyo State 5,000,000-litre Aviation Fuel Dispensing Depot at the Ibadan Airport in the Alakia area of the state.
Recall that in the build-up to the February 25 presidential poll, Wike, who lost the PDP presidential primary to PDP’s flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar last May, was unapologetically vocal about his opposition to the 2023 presidential ambition of the former Vice-President.
On Friday, the Rivers governor expressed delight that Makinde is one of those that backed the power shift to the south after the eight-year tenure of the incumbent Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari who is from Katsina State in the North-West geopolitical zone.
Wike said, “I am happy he (Makinde) is one of those that made history by making sure that power shifts to the south.
“I have told people that those who fight for change, who fight for revolution may not be direct beneficiaries of that fight but today, history has it that all of us now are aware that when power finishes from the south, it will go to the north; when it finishes from the north, it will come to the south.
“So, it does not need to be written in the constitution at all before it is implemented. And I thank Nigerians for standing firm to see that this issue materializes.”
Wike and Makinde are members of the G5 or the ‘Integrity Group’ who are aggrieved governors of the PDP.
Meanwhile, some members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) in Rivers State have dumped the party’s governorship candidate, Tonye Cole, and pledged to support Siminialaye Fubara of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the anointed governorship candidate of the state governor, Nyesom Wike.
According to the members, they are trying to reciprocate the support Wike gave the APC presidential candidate, which was instrumental in making sure the APC won the state.
The chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the APC for the campaign in the state noted that months before the APC presidential primaries, the team had inaugurated structures across the state to canvass support for Tinubu but they faced opposition from the leader of the APC in the state.
Okocha, who is also a member of APC’s PCC and Independent Campaign Council, in the state, also stated that they were denied access to party revalidation, they were also unlawfully excluded from the electioneering processes without regard for the electoral acts.
Okocha noted that in 2015 and 2019 the APC could not win any election in the state and could not also secure 25 percent of votes for their presidential candidate, Vanguard reported
He said, “We pulled together all efforts individually and collectively, yet we couldn’t secure 25 per cent of the total votes cast for the presidential candidate of our party during the 2015 presidential election.
“It was worse in 2019 when we all still worked together with a super minister, security apparatchik and malleable election personnel, we couldn’t produce the required 25 per cent for our presidential candidate.
“But in 2023, against all expectations, APC Rivers won and secured over 40 percent of the total votes cast for the presidential candidate of our party.
“Of tremendous note is to put on record the role of governor Wike of Rivers state, a leading member of the G5 Governors (Integrity Group), who threw his heavy weight in political maestro and “maverism” in support of the APC candidate.
”They urged the people of Rivers to vote for the man who will protect the Rivers interest for president of Nigeria.
