Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had redeemed itself from its errors, expressing confidence that the party would win the 2023 elections. Wike explained that only a courageous person with the capacity and vision to salvage the country would be supported to fly the presidential flag of the PDP in the 2023 general elections.
He, however, clarified that although the party had yet to decide whether such a candidate would be from the southern or northern part of Nigeria, the candidate would be one who could confront the “evil tactics” of the All Progressives Congress(APC).
According to a statement by his Media Assistant, Kelvin Ebiri, Wike who spoke on the African Independent Television, AIT, on Thursday, said the process to determine who PDP would field as its presidential candidate would be a turbulent one. He said, “Let nobody come and tell you that in arriving at a presidential candidate that it will be easy.
No way, it can never be. You know, there are two types of turbulences. There is a turbulence that will not have a crash, which is a normal turbulence. There is a turbulence that there is likely to be a crash. “Our own turbulence in PDP is the normal turbulence, which I believe we will get through it, but APC turbulence is turbulence that is likely to lead to a crash.
“PDP has redeemed its position towards what Nigerians are expecting because Nigerians are tired of what is going on in the country. So, they need an alternative, and the only alternative as it is today is the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP).” Wike said as a firm and courageous person, who had demonstrated such selfless leadership in Rivers State, he would only support a presidential candidate who would not mortgage the party for other selfish interests.
“And so, if you want to run for presidency under PDP, I will not support somebody who’ll just want to bear the name of a former presidential candidate, I will not agree to that. I must see that you are prepared for it, and to confront this evil called APC.” Wike said that he felt fulfilled that PDP got it right with the peaceful conduct of its national convention that saw the emergence of a new competent national working committee, (NWC). “Nigerians are waiting. Nigerians cannot have this type of evil come up again in 2023. We will be doing a disservice to Nigerians to allow this to continue” he added.