“I am not running to answer the name former presidential candidate, no”, Wike remarked.
“That is not why I am running. I am running election because I know if you give me the ticket I will win this election for the PDP and for Nigeria.”
Wike was speaking on the campaign trail a few days ago while trying to woo delegates from Nigeria’s North Central Geopolitical Zone.
The Rivers Governor had stopped over in Jos, capital of Plateau State, where PDP delegates were waiting.
“APC is at the Federal Government level, APC is at the Villa” Governor Nyesom Wike, PDP Presidential aspirant noted, “The only Federal Government project in Plateau is banditry.”
Stressing that the only project that the Buhari administration has deemed fit to bequeath to Plateau people is instability, Wike said he was in the race to put an end to the wanton slaughter of innocent and defenseless citizens residing on the plateau and elsewhere in the country.
He accused the APC of initiating divide and rule tactics which continue to expose the Nigerian people to danger.
Wike said it is despicable that the Federal Government has been unable to end the massacre of Nigerians in Plateau State, saying if elected President, he would stop the cold blooded murder of law abiding citizens.
“Give me the ticket, I will win the election and this thing will be a thing of the past”, Wike implored Plateau delegates.
He explained that he is serious about his bid for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to him, if elected, he will replicate his remarkable achievements as governor of Rivers State in other parts of the country.
“What is important for me is that PDP must take over in 2023. What our party requires now is somebody who can win elections.”
Governor Wike applauded former Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang and Senator Jeremiah Useni for setting aside their political differences in the interest of the party.
He emphasized that the reconciliation of the two leaders made it possible for the party to win a House of Representatives seat in the recent bye-election in the state..
In his remarks, Plateau State PDP Chairman, Chris Hassan, who acknowledged the role Governor Wike played to reconcile the leaders of the party in the State, assured him that the state will support his presidential ambition.
In Niger State, Wike observed that the corruption fight of the All Progressives Congress has become utterly skewed.
He said given the kind of politics that the APC is playing with the anti-corruption fight, Nigeria has turned into an object of ridicule before the international community.
Saying it is difficult to explain the rationale behind the state pardon extended to some handpicked leaders sent to jail, the Rivers Governor noted, President Muhammadu Buhari has compromised his promise to Nigerians to stamp out corruption.
He said it is now obvious that the fight against corruption is targeted at those who are opposed to the President’s policies and programmes.
Governor Wike told the delegates that he was soliciting for the PDP’s presidential ticket in order to end an era of carefully crafted lies sold to Nigerians by the APC.
He said farmers ought to return to their farms and help with the process of growing the economy, stressing that insecurity allowed to strive by the APC is striking a mortal blow at the heart of efforts that are being made to put the national economy back on track.
Alluding to his administration’s developmental strides in Rivers, Governor Wike explained that he is a performer and a courageous person, adding that Nigeria needs his fearless disposition to salvage it from ruin.
Former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana who had earlier urged Wike to vie for the presidency when he visited Port Harcourt solicited the support of delegates for the aspirant’s ambition.
He expressed optimism in the ability of the Rivers Governor to tackle insecurity as well as the country’s worsening infrastructural deficit.
The Niger State PDP Chairman, Tanko Beji, observed in his remark that the issues raised by Governor Wike while addressing delegates are germane.
Beji, who described the forthcoming PDP convention as a ‘do or mar’ event, said PDP must not make the mistake of giving its ticket to someone who will end up being a sectional president.
He commended Governor Wike for his commitment to the PDP and urged him to ensure that the party’s reward system is overhauled.
