- The governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike, said his people will not vote for president in 2023 based on party affiliation, ethnicity or religion
- Wike said it was unacceptable for anybody to say people should not be voted for because they were not from a particular ethnic group or religion
- On the PDP crisis, the Rivers state governor also said the G5 governors will not accept any reconciliation not based on the principles of equity, justice and fairness
Rumueprikon, Rivers state – Governor Nyesom Wike has said party affiliation, ethnicity or religion will not determine the February 25, 2023 presidential election in Rivers state.
The Rivers state governor said this on Wednesday, November 16, when former Edo state governor Adams Oshiomhole inaugurated a flyover located in Rumueprikon, his country home in Obio-Akpor local government area, Port Harcourt.
Photo credit: Gov Nyesom Ezenwo Wike – CON
Source: Facebook
PDP crisis: Wike lists conditions for truce
Governor Wike also listed equity, justice and fairness as the conditions for a truce between the leadership of his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the aggrieved Group of Five (G5) governors, The Nation reported.
Apart from Wike, other G5 members are Samuel Ortom (Benue); Seyi Makinde (Oyo); Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Ifeanyi Ngwuanyi (Enugu).
They are asking Iyorcha Ayu to quit as PDP national chairman to pave the way for a southerner to step in.
Their argument is that Ayu, a northerner cannot hold on to the position since Atiku Abubakar, another northerner has emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.
Wike insisted that the G5 governors will not accept any reconciliation not based on the principles of equity, justice and fairness.
He renewed their position that elective offices must be shared equally between the North and the South in the opposition party ahead of the 2023 general election.
“We stand for equity, fairness and justice. That is what the G5 will continue to preach. We have said we are not against reconciliation but it must be based on equity, fairness and justice,” Governor Wike said.
2023 presidency: Nigeria needs unity, says Wike
The Rivers state governor said Nigeria was in dire need of unity, justice and equity, adding that the next election would not be based on party, ethnicity and religion.
He said it was unacceptable for anybody to say people should not be voted for because they were not from a particular ethnic group or religion.
“What we require in this country today is united, one Nigeria. This how all of us can see ourselves as one and how we can see ourselves as our brothers’ keepers.
“We need a Nigeria that all us can be proud of, that I will know that truly I am not a second class citizen, that the same right you have is the same right I have, the same opportunity you have is the same opportunity that I have. There is no need of saying if you are not from this place people will not vote for you. We don’t want that,” Wike said.
PDP crisis: Wike says he remains a PDP chieftain
Meanwhile, TopLatestNews previously reported that Governor Wike said he is still a chieftain of the opposition PDP even if he has declared openly he will not campaign for the party’s flagbearer, Atiku.
His romance with some stalwarts of the ruling APC and the Labour Party flagbearer, Peter Obi had raised questions in the polity.
The governor, however, insisted he has not defected to any other party.
Source: TopLatestNews
