...Also, the governor refuted claims that he was working against Obi's presidential campaign.
Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) has been hailed as the winner of the recently-concluded presidential election by the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.
Despite Obi not being declared the winner, Wike claimed in a town hall speech to Igbo traders in Port Harcourt, the state capital, that Obi’s election participation ensured a southerner would become the next president.
The governor said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would have won the states where Obi recorded a victory, maintaining its hold on power in the North.
He is one of the five PDP governors who feel they have been wronged, collectively known as the G5, and who have refused to back Atiku Abubakar for president of the United States due to alleged zoning violations.
Obi is my hero in this race, as far as I’m concerned, he declared. Power would have remained in the North if he hadn’t challenged.
In the governorship and state assembly elections on March 18, Wike asked the traders to disregard criticism from detectors and support the PDP.
Also, the governor refuted claims that he was working against Obi’s presidential campaign.
Sim Fubara, the PDP’s candidate for governor in the state, as well as Dan Orbih, the South-South Vice Chairman of the PDP, were also there.
He explained to the merchants that he had heard they were upset with him because he was reported to have worked against Obi during the presidential race.
Wike clarified that since he and the other G5 governors supported a southern president, he had no reason to act against the previous governor of Anambra.
The governor of Rivers stated that he was constrained by his agreement with the other disgruntled governors, which is why he did not publicly support a presidential candidate, and that the area needed to remain unified after the election.
He addressed the difficulties and gave 30 plots of land for their ICT village project during a visit to the phone and computer market at the Garrison Junction.
Wike granted the traders’ request for 150 plots of land to develop their market when he met with them at the Mile 3 Market.
