Atiku: Rivers Yet To Decide On Presidential Candidate To Support — Wike

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Monday, said the state was yet to decide on next year’s presidential election.

He declared that the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate, all the House of Representatives, Senate and State House of Assembly will win in the 2023 general elections, saying the state was yet to determine what to do concerning the presidential election.

Wike spoke during the inauguration 319 Ward and 32 Constituency Liaison Officers in Government House, Port Harcourt on Monday.

This was contained in a statement issued by Kelvin Ebiri, Special Assistant on Media to Governor Wike and made available to newsmen.

“PDP will win our state. I am not hiding it as far as the governorship, House of Reps, Senate and State Assembly are concerned. The other one (presidency), we have not decided until the right thing is done,” the Rivers governor said.

This is as Wike also took a swipe at the former Minister of Transport, Dr. Abiye Sekibo, saying he does not fill such a leadership position to speak on behalf of the state.

Dr. Sekibo is the Director General of the Peoples’ Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council in Rivers State.

Sekibo, former governor of the state (now derecognized), Sir Celestine Omehia, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Austin Opara and the former senator who represented the Rivers South-East district, Senator Lee Maeba, had fallen out of favour after they pitched their tent with the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, for the 2023 poll.

Wike said Sekibo was a self-seeking politician who has been unable to attract democratic dividend, of whatever kind, to the State while he served as minister and also to his hometown, Okrika local government area of the state.

“I watched a video when one Dr. Abiye Sekibo, while he was addressing people in his house yesterday (Sunday), said he is the director of Atiku’s Supporters in Rivers.

“I have no problem about that. But he does not have the capacity to speak on behalf of Rivers State.

“In that video, he said that Rivers State has been having a close relationship with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and that Rivers State has always benefitted from Atiku Abubakar.

“I want to correct one impression, Dr. Abiye Sekibo has a personal relationship with Alhaji Atiku, not Rivers State.

“Dr. Abiye Sekibo was Minister of Transport when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was the Vice president of Nigeria. Can you people mention one project in Okrika, I don’t even want to talk about Rivers State, in Ogu/Bolo, one project that he brought down to Rivers State. Is there anyone?”

Wike said leadership was not about personal aggrandizement, but serving the people, protecting their interests while building up others as competent successors.

He stated that people like Dr. Sekibo number among those who are never satisfied with the fortunes they have enjoyed in life, otherwise, he should have been silent in the public sphere for his failure in leadership.

“I was a minister, junior minister in that matter. But I am proud to say anywhere I go in this state (Rivers), I brought a dividend of democracy to Rivers.

“As a junior minister, I brought the Oil and Gas Polytechnic to Rivers State that is sited in Bonny. There was no Faculty of Law at the University of Port Harcourt since the creation of that institution, but I brought it.

“As a minister, I made sure Kenule Beeson Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic and the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, even if they are state institutions, I made sure they got a grant of N500M each,” Wike stated.

Wike also listed his several educational interventions at the primary-secondary school levels, which depict what true leadership should be.

He stressed that Dr. Sekibo as Secretary to the Rivers State government did not also execute any project of note in Okrika, saying while he, as Chief of Staff, delivered several road projects in Rumuepirikom.