Wike said so on Monday in Port Harcourt, at the inauguration of a project he invited his Lagos counterpart, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to perform
By Kehinde Okeowo
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has said the people of his state will only vote for the candidate it can benefit from, warning aspirants to take the state lightly at their peril.
The governor made the statement on Monday in Port Harcourt at the inauguration of the Orochiri -Worukwo (Waterlines junction) flyover that was performed by his Lagos counterpart, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
According to The Nation, the Governor also asserted that the dynamics of contemporary politics had made it unpopular to just gift votes away without the assurance of derivable benefit for the people.
Wike said: “If you say Rivers State does not matter, Rivers State will tell you that you don’t also matter at the appropriate time. If you don’t like us, we will not like you. If you like us, we will like you.
“Nobody will use our votes for nothing. Our votes will matter and Rivers State must benefit from anybody that we are going to support.
“Politics now is no longer just vote for somebody, it is about what you will do for the people of Rivers State.”
He also said it would be difficult for any conspirator to upset the voting pattern of Rivers State and support for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Wike added that those who stole the River State’s money in the past will never be elected again, saying he is fully in charge of the state and not the kind of governor that can be threatened with federal might.
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He added: “My guest from Lagos State, let nobody tell you story that anybody will come here to win as governor of Rivers State. It will not happen.
“Those who looted the treasury of the State will not come here to be governor of Rivers State and I have challenged them.
“I am fully in charge. I am not that kind of governor people will go to Abuja and hold meetings against. I am fully in charge here.”
Wike also challenged his distractors to show the projects they have executed in their states, as he stated that the Sanwo-Olu is not the first person with a different political affiliation to inaugurate a project in Rivers State.
Sanwo-Olu, in his speech, commended Wike for delivering dividends of democracy, noting that is why he is labelled, Mr. Projects.
He said: “I would like to specially commend my brother, Governor Wike, for his strong commitment to the delivery of physical infrastructure in Rivers State, a commitment that has been recognized by all and sundry, and which has earned him the appellation of ‘Mr. Projects’ within and outside Rivers State.”
Sanwo-Olu also applauded Wike for inviting him despite being in different camps, saying the gesture sent a very strong message of the need for political leaders to come together for the good of the people.