Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has said that the decision of Peter Obi to contest the Presidential election under the platform of Labour Party, primarily prevented the north from retaining power after the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure.
Wike made the commendation during interactive meeting with Technical Dealers Association of Nigeria, Computer Dealers Association, Garrison Phone Dealers Association and Building Materials Traders Association in Port Harcourt on Saturday.
As contained in a statement released by his aide, the Governor described the Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, as the hero of the 2023 presidential election. “The hero in this election is Obi whether you like it or not. I am not here to please you, Obi is the hero”, he said.
Wike Wike explained that contrary to insinuation that he did not support Peter Obi, what most people failed to realise is that the Labour Party presidential candidate remains his hero of the election.
According to him, “Obi is my hero. If Obi did not contest, power would have gone back to the North. The whole of South-South and South-East that PDP lost, if Obi did not contest PDP would have won.”
“He may not have been pronounced as the winner, no problem, the law will take its course. If Obi did not run this election, power would have remained in the North. Whether he declared a winner now or not, history will be on his side that he fought and fought well”, he added.
The Governor said the reason why he did not publicly declare support for any presidential candidate was because the PDP G-5 governors had unanimously agreed to ensure the emergence of a president from southern Nigeria to succeed President Buhari.
“While members of the G-5 governors assiduously worked for power to return to the South, the likes of Rivers State ex-Governor, immediate past Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, who is now soliciting for Igbo to support APC candidate, Tonye Cole, mobilised votes for Atiku Abubakar.
“If Amaechi loves the Igbos, why did he not support Obi? Instead, he supported Atiku. He did not want power to return to the South because he lost APC ticket”, he said.
Wike said the reason why Amaechi is deliberately canvassing support for Tonye Cole is because he wants stall their on going prosecution for embezzling $50M from the Rivers State government coffers.
The Governor urged Igbos in Rivers State to be wary of Amaechi, who served as Minister of Transportation for over seven years, but failed to revive eastern ports and railway lines from Enugu-Aba-Port Harcourt.
He recalled that when Amaechi was the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, he vehemently opposed plan to compensate Igbos who lost their property in the State during the civil war.
According to him, “it is absolutely mischievous for Amaechi, who also served as Rivers State governor from 2007 to 2015, to wake up in 2023 to resurrect the issue of abandoned property because of his inordinate political ambition”.
The Governor announced allocation of 150 plots of land to the Computer Dealers Association and 30 plots to Computer Dealers Association to develop an industrial park in Port Harcourt.
The Chairmen of the Computer Dealers Association, Anunobi Ikechi and Building Materials Traders Association, Okwudiri Onuorah , assured Wike of their support for the Rivers State PDP Governorship candidate, Siminialayi Fubara, in the 18 March , 2023 election.