Nobody can undermine Rivers in quest for presidency, Wike declares

‘Etche remains relevant in state politics’

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that anybody desiring to be president of Nigeria will need to secure votes in Rivers in addition to either Kano or Lagos states to win the presidential election.

Such a crucial position, he said, established the significance of Rivers State in the political permutations of the country, insisting that nobody could undermine it.

He stated this yesterday at the grand finale of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) local government election campaign at Ulakwo in Etche Council of the state.

“I keep telling the PDP that no state has given more votes to the party than Rivers. It is only Rivers in the South-South that the All Progressives Congress (APC) failed to get 25 per cent votes in the 2019 General Elections.

“Nobody wins the presidency of the country without winning Rivers, Lagos, or Kano together. Rivers is not a state anybody can joke with. Some states went to negotiate with them, but Rivers didn’t do that,” he said.

Speaking further, Wike said the fortunes of Etche people have improved under the PDP-led administration in the state.

He said under his administration, Etche people have been appointed as Vice-Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, while one of them had also become a judge.

Leader of PDP in Etche, Prince Emma Anyanwu, said the people have no regrets associating with Governor Wike, while another party chieftain, Allwell Onyesoh, commended the governor for the various development projects his administration had executed in Etche.