Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) might become extinct if it fails to present electable candidate to win the 2023 presidential election.
Wike, who is a PDP presidential aspirant, said winning the 2023 general election “is crucial to the survival of the party and he remains the most electable aspirant that can defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC).”
The Rivers State governor made this assertion, yesterday, while wooing Anambra State PDP leaders and delegates to support his presidential ambition in Awka, the capital of Anambra State.
He told the delegates that as a mark of honour, he personally visited Awka to formally notify them of his ambition to become the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“I didn’t send anybody to you, because I have respect for you. We have been opposition since 2015 and if we don’t win this election in 2023, we can as well forget PDP. And so, everything must be done to win this election. No sentiment should be brought in and of all the aspirants, whether the person is from Anambra, Sokoto, Imo, look at all of us, who can withstand APC in this election? It is me.”
The governor reiterated that prior to the 2015 general election, some of the present presidential aspirants defected to the APC and PDP lost the presidency.
He said: “It is ironical that after the PDP has been rebuilt and made formidable, those who abandoned it are back and jostling for the party’s ticket.”
“I have challenged APC before. I have defeated them severally with the government in power. You know what happened in Rivers State. All I am asking the delegates is, if you really want PDP to win this election in 2023, just give me that ticket. Go home and sleep with your eyes close. I will win the election.”
Governor Wike berated the APC led federal government for its inability to stem the tide of insurgency and banditry in the country. He maintained that any government that cannot protect life and property has failed in its primary responsibility and should be voted out.