Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has said governors of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and other stakeholders would work effectively to ensure that the party produce the next president in the 2023 general elections.
Wike stated this when he paid a courtesy call on the Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, at the Government House, Yenagoa, the Bayelsa state capital, on Monday.
According to him, “I’ve come to let him know that everybody as PDP members must put ourselves together to build the party. Without the party, nobody can be a presidential candidate. There must be a party. So, there is the need for everybody to work together, make the party to be united before we talk about who will be presidential candidate.”
The governor reiterated that Nigerians were anxiously waiting for PDP to rescue the country from the poor governance the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has imposed on them.
“We cannot afford to miss this opportunity that Nigerians are giving back to PDP to takeover the government in 2023. Everybody must work together as a party. And as governors, we must work together. If we didn’t work together we won’t have had the best convention we have ever had as a party.”
He warned that if governors and members of the party are not united, it would be difficult for the party to nominate an acceptable presidential candidate amicably.
He noted that PDP must capitalise on the brewing crisis in the APC to build a more formidable party to wrest power from the APC led federal government.
The governor assured that PDP governors will not be distracted by the antics of those fanning the embers of discords in their bid to weaken their resolve to work in unison for the PDP to clinch the presidency in 2023.
“We, as governors, will be united. Nobody can divide the governors because we are determined to work together to make sure PDP produces the next president in 2023.”
He commended Governor Diri, the deputy chairman of the PDP convention committee, for the pivotal role he played in ensuring the convention’s success that produced the party’s National Working Committee (NWC).
Wike urged the Bayelsa State governor to focus on providing democratic dividends to the people of his state, as that is the best strategy to silence the opposition in the state.
“You must make a difference, silence the opposition. We have silenced them and will continue to silence them because they are looking for where to get Rivers State to fight Bayelsa. They are looking for how they’ll use Bayelsa to fight Rivers. We’ll not allow that.”
On his part, Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, lauded Governor Wike for the role he and other governors played in the emergence of a new NWC with a national chairman of proven integrity, who will steer the PDP back to power in 2023.
He also commended Governor Wike for his resolve to end illegal bunkering and artisanal refining in Rivers State as he warned that his administration would not tolerate their presence in his state.
“Let me use this opportunity to warn that Bayelsa will not condone any of those oil bunkers. Those days are over. We have moved on, and anyone who is planning to leave Rivers State to come and start that illicit, illegitimate, illegal business in Bayelsa, please have a change of mind and look elsewhere, because we already have a standing committee on that.
“From our State Security Council meeting, we will come down very hard on anyone that will do that illegal and illegitimate business in Bayelsa.”
