Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said the inability of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, to win the presidential election was a direct consequence of ignoring the warnings of the G-5 governors of the PDP.
Governor Wike said this during the inauguration of the Chokocho road in Etche Local government area of the State.
He said it is too early in the day for people to begin to forget that the eventual fate that befell PDP was avoidable if the national leadership of the party had heeded the several appeals and demands on them to adopt the principle of equity, fairness and justice as they approached the presidential election.
He added that it is now settled that the presidency has returned to the south because the north is completing its eight years at the presidency.
The governor explained that there was no time he ever criticised either the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi or the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu during the campaigns.
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Governor Wike said he, instead, campaigned, unapologetically, to true lovers of Nigeria to vote for a southern presidential candidate in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice.
“I am satisfied with my conscience. I owe nobody any apology.
“Our constitution says in section 7 (3C) that there shall be a rotation of public offices, of appointive and elective. You took the chairmanship of the party. You took the presidential candidate slot of the party, and we came to you, saying this is against the spirit of our constitution.
“Give us back the chairmanship; you said no, that you must have it all because you have won. I said be careful then, and nobody wants to remember all those things when we were shouting.
“That is what we have argued for, that the north has had it for eight years. Therefore, the south should have it for eight years. So, I am not here to persecute anybody.
“As far as I am concerned, anybody from the south is where I stand. That is what we agreed as integrity group that we must make sure that a southerner emerges as the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Taking a swipe at the governorship candidate of APC in Rivers State, Governor Wike said Tonye Cole lacks the character to steer the affairs of the State.
“People are terrible in politics, those who cannot stand for what they say. When I say something, you can go home and sleep, knowing that I said something.
“Look at the APC candidate (Tonye Cole), he posted on social media, congratulating Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, but within one hour, he pulled it out. Is that a man? Is that character? I don’t understand. This is a man who all of them, both their leader, even some of them who claimed to be in PDP, all of them in this State voted against a southern presidency.
“They voted Atiku Abubakar. The same people now turned around to say, support me (Tonye Cole); it’s only Wike that did not support Obi.
“Look at people who don’t have character; are they the ones you want as governor of Rivers State? I have character; go to anywhere, I have character. There are characters whom you cannot trust.”
