The newly elected President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, expressed gratitude to Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for supporting him victory in February 25, 2023 presidential election. He commended Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for his firmness in insisting that the president must emerge from the south in the 2023 general elections, eulogising Wike to be a man of integrity.
Tinubu was in Rivers State on Wednesday on the invitation of Governor Wike to commission the Rumuokwuta/Rumuola Road Flyover in Port Harcourt.
According to Tinubu, “Your Excellency, Governor Nyesom Wike, you are very dependable.
“Nyesom, I say thank-you for your contribution to my victory. I couldn’t have done it without some structural support.
“In his Excellency, I see a man of principle. He took a principled stand that the Presidency must return to the South and he has the courage to stand by his conviction not minding whose ox is gored.
“He is, indeed, a man of great integrity; he did not choose to serve his own interest, not about him. Rather, the interest of the nation. You promoted unity, you promoted fairness, you championed justice. Thank you.
“There were so much gossips and speculations but you stood your ground.”
Tinubu noted that he went through a “gruesome campaign, fought hard and won”, adding that he could not have achieved victory against major opponents like the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, from his platform, the All Progressives Congress (APC), without structural support from people like Wike.
He congratulated Wike’s ally in the PDP G5, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on his victory in Oyo, commending his “partnership”.
Governor Wike had delivered Rivers State to Tinubu and the APC in the February 25 presidential election amidst protest for the resignation of the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, after Atiku emerged PDP presidential candidate. The conflation was a continuation of the agitation for zoning of the 2023 presidential ticket to the south.