Wike declares for president, rebukes Atiku, Saraki

Wike said: Those who want to be president now were the problems of the party in 2015. They ran away when the party needed them most.”

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers State, has declared his intention to contest the presidency in the 2023 elections.

Wike said this on Sunday when he visited Benue State to consult stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state over his ambition.

The Rivers State governor, who expressed confidence that PDP would win the presidency in the next election, said his decision to contest is to take back power from the APC.

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“If you’re running election, power isn’t given for free; it is taken. I’ve come out and I’m going to take this power from APC back to PDP by the grace of God,” he said.

“God has given us what it takes. That’s why God is making APC to make mistake everyday and that is how you know that God is with you,” he added.

Wike, who said he has what it takes to win the election, said he had stood with the PDP when many members “ran away”, adding that if elected, he will be close to the people.

“Those who want to be president now were the problems of the party in 2015. They ran away when the party needed them most. But I have stood and worked for this party. I have nowhere to run to because I take it personally that the party should not die. And I challenge anyone in a debate what they did for PDP,” Wike said.

On why he chose Makurdi as the place for his declaration, Wike, who said that he wants to be Nigeria’s next President to tackle unabated insecurity and engender rule of law, said: “It is obvious I am going to run for the presidency of this country. I am declaring for the first time in Benue state because of my special relationship with them. People are not suspecting, but let it be known today that I am announcing it in Benue because I have a special relationship with this state.”

Wike said under his watch as president, Service Chiefs and heads of security agencies would be given necessary equipment and incentives to discharge their constitutional obligations with defined timelines to tackle lingering insecurity with no room for excuses.

“Today, you can’t talk about security in this country and you understand that without security you can’t talk about governance. The first thing anybody who takes an oath of office swears to is that you must protect life and property.

“If you can’t protect life and property then you can’t talk about governance. So the major thing is that our people should be alive”, he asserted.

Condemning the weekend’s terrorist attack on the Kaduna International Airport, Wike said Nigerians urgently need a leader who can address the growing insecurity in the country.

Blaming the failure to attract direct foreign investment into the country on lack of respect for rule of law, the governor stated, “Nobody can bring investment in this country because there is no respect for the rule of law.

“Nobody obeys court order. Who will come and invest his money when the court gives its judgement and it will not be obeyed? So, I am going to run for election and victory will be ours.”

Talking about some of his potential rivals in the contest, the Rivers Governor said, “Those who want to be president now were the problems of the party in 2015.

“They ran away when the party needed them most. But I have stood and worked for this party. I have nowhere to run to because I take it personally that the party should not die. I challenge anyone in a debate what they did for PDP.”

He solicited the support of delegates ahead of the PDP’S presidential primary, saying he has all it takes to defeat the APC and turn around the country for the better, adding that when some of those seeking to get the party’s ticket left to gang with the APC, he and others remained and sustained the party.

Launching a withering attack on former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Senate President Bukola Saraki who have all declared their interest in running for the presidency in 2023, Wike charged the party delegates to be mindful of some presidential aspirants who claimed to be the founding father of the party as well as those who flaunt their father’s wealth, saying they were the ones responsible for the defeat of the party in 2015.

He said, “Let these people who are interested in the presidency in PDP tell us their contributions, you claimed to be one of the founding fathers of the party, but you have left and come back, you have become an ordinary person in the new PDP.

“If you form a company and run away because the company is not doing well you come back and found that it is now doing well and you want to come and take over.

“Some people want to use Nigeria to get back their private businesses, let them mention their private sector that survived. Is it a bank that your father had?

“Everybody is an employer of labour, even me I have 50 people in my house, so everybody has been employing people according to his capacity.

“In 2015, most of these people made us (PDP) lose the election.”

Wike said he had spoken truth to power, saying, “I have spoken truth to power, I don’t have problem with anybody but I have to tell them the truth. Umahi and others abused me because I told him that he cannot take our mandate away.

“As a governor, I have performed well, I can go anywhere with my shoulder high, how many of them have challenged this government (APC)?”

During his visit to Benue, the Rivers State governor donated N200 million each to Katsina Ala and Makurdi LGAs to support victims of recent fire outbreaks in the areas.

Earlier, Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, who was present at the occasion appreciated the contributions of Wike to his State, especially during the herdsmen invasion in 2018.

He said Benue will reciprocate by supporting his aspiration.

“Periodically, you have been helping us, particularly during the 2018 crisis in the state, we will support your aspiration because you have sown seed and you need to reap.”

Ortom who said he has been an advocate of the southern presidency, reiterated, “On the southern presidency, I stand”.