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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that the inability of Atiku Abubakar to win was a direct consequence of ignoring the warnings of G-5 governors of the PDP.
He said it was too early in the day for people to forget that the eventual fate that befell PDP was avoidable if the national leadership of the party had heeded several appeals and demands on them to adopt the principle of equity, fairness and justice, as they approached the election.
The governor explained that there was no time he ever criticised either the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi or APC’s Bola Tinubu during the campaigns.
He said he rather campaigned, unapologetically, to true lovers of Nigeria to vote for a southern presidential candidate in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice.
The governor spoke, yesterday, at Okomoko Community Field while inaugurating the Chokocho-Igbodo Road in Etche Local Government Area. He said while others were demonstrating against the outcome of the presidential elections, he was in Rivers inaugurating projects and satisfying the development needs of the people.
He said it was a settled mater that the presidency has returned to the South because with President Muhamadu Buhari, the North would be completing its eight years.
He insisted that he was one of the apostles who stood firm that power must rotate to the south based on the conviction of equity, fairness and justice.
“Our constitution says in Section 7: 3c that, there shall be 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 the south emerges as the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
He told Etche people that he has no problem with anybody who had either voted for LP or APC because the outcome of the presidential election is that Nigeria has a southerner elected as the next president.
Taking a swipe at the governorship candidate of the APC in Rivers State, Wike said Tonye Cole lacked 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 they’re in PDP, voted against a southern presidency. They voted Atiku Abubakar. The same people now turned around to say, support me (Tonye Cole), it is only Wike that did not support Obi.”
