The Governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyesom Wike, has again urged the Peoples Democratic Party to put him forward as its presidential candidate in 2023, saying he is the only one capable of dislodging the ruling All Progressives Congress from power.
According to him, what Nigeria needs now is an honest president and that person is none other than him.
Wike, who had since declared his aspiration to run for the office of the nation’s president in 2023, spoke in Niger State, where he went to seek support for his ambition.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Rivers governor met with PDP stakeholders in Niger State at the party’s secretariat in Minna.
He said there was nothing wrong in the party agreeing on a consensus presidential candidate if the decision was reached based on equity, justice and fairness.
He said, “I am here today to tell you that I have made myself available to run for the seat of the President of this country under our party, the PDP. I have been a member of the PDP since 1998; I have never left the party and I will never leave.
“I can become the President if I get the mandate of delegates to make me the flag-bearer. The country needs someone who will see white and call it white and (see) black and call it black and that person is me.”
Wike, who scored the present administration low in the security of lives and property, lamented that under the watch of the APC government killers had overrun the country.
“People can no longer sleep and travel without the fear of being kidnapped; farmer can no longer go to farm,” he said, describing Niger State as one of the worst hit by insecurity.
Responding, the Chairman of the Niger State PDP, Mr Tanko Beji, thanked Wike for standing by the state party when they needed him to reconcile members, adding that the reconciliation had made the party more united and stronger to reclaim power in the state come 2023.
Beji said the party and the country needed someone who would give it a redirection and change the reward system, adding that the state would provide a level playing field for everybody to participate.
In their separate remarks, Senator Zainba Kure and Mr Jerry Gana, described Wike as a “gender-friendly leader who could give women the opportunity to contribute and add value to the growth and development of the state and the country.”
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