The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu; and his running mate, Kashim Shettima on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, visited Governor Nyesom Wike at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The APC flag bearer and his running mate were accompanied by the party’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu; Governors Abubakar Bagudu (Kebbi), Babjide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi).
Others at the meeting include former governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti) and Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) as well as the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; among others.
However, a former Minister of Transportation and ex-governor of Rivers, Rotimi Amaechi was conspicuously absent at the meeting. Also, the APC governorship candidate in Rivers, Tonye Cole was not at the meeting.
Tinubu had campaigned in the state before retiring to meet Wike at the Government House.
Wike, a member of the G5 of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has not been in good terms with his party’s flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar.
The G5 is made up of five aggrieved governors of the PDP in southern Nigeria including Wike, Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu).
The five governor have been consistent in their demand that Iyorchia Ayu step down as PDP national chairman as a precondition for them to support the presidential ambition of Atiku.
G5 Governors: Wike Warns PDP That Window For Reconciliation With Atiku Will Soon Close
Nyesom Wike, the governor of Rivers State, has said the G5 Governors would soon shut the door of reconciliation with the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The governor stated this on Friday, January 13, 2023, during an interview with BBC Pidgin.
Wike reiterated that their choice of presidential candidate would soon be made known to the public, adding that they were not in a hurry to make a decision on whom to support.
Wike said: “Some people are counting January 4th, 16th. They should calm down. We are all politicians; we have political strategies. I don’t work as an individual. That’s what people don’t understand.
“There are different strategies in going to war. What you see today is not what you see tomorrow. Oh I laugh at them (PDP) when they say we are in touch with so, so governor.”
He clarified that telling the Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, that he is a presidential material doesn’t mean that he (Wike) has endorsed Obi.
“If I tell Obi that he is a presidential material, does that mean an endorsement?” Wike queried.
Meanwhile, the governor has urged construction companies handling various projects for the state government to maximise the dry season to achieve commendable feat.
Wike stated this while flagging off the construction of Abua-Emoh-Iyak-Ighom-Elok and Emoh-Egbolom Access Road that held at Okpeden Town Junction in Abua/Odual local council on Friday, January 13, 2023.
He said the project and the earlier one he flagged off recently in the same area were important not only to the Abua/Odual people, but also to the state government, stressing that his administration would not entertain any excuse of delay in completing the project.
The governor noted that the same contractor, Lubrik Construction Company, was luckily handling the road projects. He enthused that Lubrik had already been told to be more serious in giving maximum attention required to the two roads to complete them on schedule.
According to him, more money would be released to the construction company on Monday next week to motivate them to speed up the work.
“I don’t want the contractor to say today is gone, no. You must use the hours you have and continue to work as we flag off the project. So, don’t say today is gone, there is nothing that is gone.
“Every time must be utilised because we are now in dry season. Rivers is a place you don’t know when the rains will start. So, now we have sun, let us utilise it,” he said.
Wike explained that just as his administration was stamping its feet to deliver the two road projects in the area, the Abua/Odual people should be politically vigilant.
Such vigilance, he pointed out, means to guard their votes and deliver them for candidates of the PDP contesting for governorship, National Assembly, and State House of Assembly elections in Rivers State.
“We also expect that you will also reciprocate what we are doing for you. We have built schools, which every other person may have done. But these roads are very important to us. And I believe that by the time you vote for us in the governorship, the House of Assembly, the Senate, and the House of Representatives elections, obviously, my successor will have no choice but to link you up with bridges over rivers that separate some of your communities so that all of you will be together,” he added.
Source: ChannelsTV
