Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has said that Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a man that is “desperately” needed in Nigeria.
He described Mr. Tinubu as a man with “character and courage”.
He stated this on Wednesday at Government House, Port Harcourt, while receiving Mr. Tinubu, who visited him shortly after the APC presidential rally in the state.
Kelvin Ebiri, the spokesperson to the governor, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
“I wish you good luck,” the governor was quoted as saying to Mr. Tinubu. “I support the principle of fairness, equity, and justice and that is what G5 stands (for). G5 does not stand for anybody.”
Despite his seeming endorsement of Mr. Tinubu, Governor Wike advised the APC leadership not to invest its resources in the APC candidates in the state, warning that they would not win a single position in the general elections.
This development is coming a few days after the Rivers chapter of the APC accused Mr. Wike of making moves to join the party through the backdoor.
The APC in the state accused Wike of discreetly asking his political appointees to canvass votes across the state for the APC presidential candidate.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers has made a similar allegation.
The G5, which Mr. Wike and the other governors formed, has been demanding the resignation of the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to pave the way for a southerner to lead the PDP to achieve a “regional balance”.
Besides Mr. Wike vowing that Mr. Atiku would not win the 25 February presidential election in Rivers, the supporters of the PDP presidential candidate have been violently attacked in the state, forcing the party to cancel its presidential campaign rally in the state.
Mr. Wike’s seeming endorsement of Mr. Tinubu is considered an anti-climax after the Rivers governor kept Nigerians guessing who he was likely going to support in the forthcoming presidential election.
The Commissioner for Information in the state, Chris Finebone, told PREMIUM TIMES last week that he could neither confirm nor refute the claim that Governor Wike had directed political appointees in the state to canvass votes for Mr. Tinubu.
“The high-wire politics of Governor Wike is beyond the infantile understanding of little chaps in Rivers APC and their collaborators. Hence, the different wild conjectures. The governor holds (all) the aces and is always ahead of them,” he said.
“Governor Wike and all of us remain solid members of PDP. Losing sleep over who we will vote for president shouldn’t be their headache but if they had chosen to do so, so be it,” he added.
