Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has said he won’t work for candidates that do not request his support for campaigns but rather for those who ask for it.
Wike spoke when he addressed supporters during the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign in Bonny Local Government Area of the State on Tuesday.
Information Nigeria reports that Wike’s statement was not far-fetched from the ongoing crisis of the PDP.
Recall that the G-5 governors have since stayed away from the party’s campaign rallies since September 2022 to press home their demand for the resignation of the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.
The five have kept Nigerians guessing on the preferred presidential candidate for the February 25 election.
Wike and four other governors of the PDP – Samuel Ortom (Benue), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Okezie Ikpeazu ( Abia) – had last year promised to announced their preferred presidential candidate in January .
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The governors had listed Ayu’s exit as a pre-condition for the support of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
However, the former senate president, Ayu has vowed to remain in the position till the end of his tenure in 2025.
He said: “Go home and have it on your mind that PDP in Rivers has taken governorship, taken the senatorial, House of Representatives, and State Assembly elections.
“It is the election we are doing here. These are the ones (candidates) who told me to come and campaign for them. No other person told me to campaign for him. I can’t force myself to campaign for you when you have not asked for it.
“These ones (candidates) have told me, so, I’ve come here to campaign. If somebody asks you to work for him, you’ll work for him. But if they don’t want you to work for them, will you force them? There’s nothing like propaganda, nothing like intimidation because nobody can intimidate us.
“We are very, very solid. We are very strong. No state can point at us to determine what will happen here. Nobody can do such. So, be bold to say, I’m from Rivers State, I live in Rivers and I am happy with Rivers. What is important is our state which we have collected.”