Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Kogi state, Senator Dino Melaye does not have what it takes to be the next governor of the state.
Speaking in his periodic interview with some selected television stations on Tuesday at his residence at Rumuepirikom, Obio/Akpor local government, the governor described the ambition of Melaye as laughable.
He said that he would not be surprised if the PDP national Leadership was rooting for and backing Melaye, “because it’s time to compensate him for his attack dogs.
“When you give Dino that ticket, you know, he won’t win in Kogi state, you’re just compensating him for a job well done for being your “attack dog”, abusing those who disagreed with the national leadership of PDP,” Wike said.
The governor stressed that it would take a lot to defeat an incumbent governor or President and the ruling party.
“Why would Kogi people say they would vote for a candidate like Dino? Are we joking? Is it that the incumbent Governor did not do well, or his party is in disarray,” he stated.
He said defeating an incumbent government required a lot of strategy like capitalizing on nonperformance and picking an acceptable candidate by the stakeholders of the party in the state adding that it should not be compensated to somebody because he is the favourite of the national leadership of PDP.
“Dino does not have what it takes to be a governor for crying out loud. He knows me very well. He does not have what it takes to be a governor,” Wike stated, pointing out that PDP was doomed to lose the election if it gave the governor ticket to the former Kogi West Senator.
He predicted that he would be shocked if Dino wins the election as governor and warned the PDP not to cry of rigging when they lose because they were confronting an incumbent with a weak candidate.
He said; “Giving PDP governorship ticket in Kogi state to Dino Melaye is like planning to fail because he doesn’t have what it takes to become governor of Kogi state.
“Tomorrow, you begin to cry that you were rigged out. But you’re already rigging yourself out by changing the delegates list to favour someone who cannot win the election. It’s not about going to act movie on television and social media.”
According to him, “The last time Dino wanted to contest that election, it was Senator Bukola Saraki that brought him to meet me.”
He added that the next time he saw Dino Melaye in his house in Port Harcourt was when Atiku Abubakar came back from Dubai and visited him.
“Dino was part of his delegation to my house. At that point I called him aside and asked him if he had abandoned Saraki and joined Atiku, if I tell you what Dino said you will be shocked,” he said, alleging that Dino only knew how to abuse people and dramatize to get a favour.
Also, the governor said that it would amount to a huge distraction for the new President from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to have the Senate or House of Representatives led by a President or Speaker from an opposition party.
He declared that he would not support any attempt by his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to produce the Senate President of the 10th National Assembly.
Wike’s position against PDP producing the President of the 10th Senate is in furtherance of his fight against his party at the national level which saw him work against the party in the presidential election and delivering Rivers State to APC.
He said such a move would engender a lack of cooperation between the Executive and the Legislature pointing out that such a development would also hamper good governance and ultimately, lead to suffering for Nigerians.
He explained that in a democracy, the majority party should be allowed to produce the Senate President, while the minority parties settle for other slots for a smooth Executive and Legislative relationship.
Wike said the elected National Assembly members from Rivers would not support PDP’s quest to produce the Senate President stressing that it was to forestall the unhealthy relationship that occurred during the 8th Senate when Senator Bukola Saraki was elected President of the Senate while in the opposition party with the help of some aggrieved lawmakers from the ruling party.
Wike informed that some aspirants for the leadership of the national assembly have reached out to him for support.
Responding to the argument that the President-Elect and his Deputy won with a Muslim-Muslim ticket and so the Senate President should be Christian, Wike said he did not like playing with religious sentiment adding that he would wait to see the background of the candidates selected by the ruling APC before choosing one that would ensure inclusiveness for every part of the country.
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