Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, says he recognises the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its governors as heroes of Nigeria despite the backlash the Party is receiving concerning the country’s socio-economic situation.
The governor, who said this at the 114th quarterly general meeting of the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers in Port Harcourt, on Monday, described insinuations that he will defect to the APC as speculative.
Wike maintained that he remained an unrepentant member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The Integrity Group leader informed the council ahead of Saturday’s presidential election that he would be voting for only the candidate that could guarantee the unity of the country.
He said, “I am not a member of the APC and I will not be. But, they have made me to recognise that they are the heroes of this country.
“The governors came out to say look, for the unity of this country, presidency should go to the south.
“The governors of the APC said the way the country is, they want the unity of this country and therefore, the presidency should go to the south.
“They could have as well said no, it doesn’t matter. As governors, we have the number. We can still say it should remain where it should remain. But they didn’t do that.
“They said the way we are seeing this country we want everybody to be together.
“Let no one say because I have the population, therefore, you will continue to dominate. In dominating you need peace, without peace you cannot govern.”
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Reacting to the crisis in the PDP, the governor said that Rivers State had helped to sustain the Party right from the era of former Governor Peter Odili down to his administration.
He therefore insisted that it was wrong for a section of the country to deny other people the opportunity to participate in presiding over the affairs of the nation.
“We are all Nigerians and we want the unity of this country. We want Nigeria to move forward as a united country.
“Rivers State has always been in support of one Nigeria and we’ll continue to support one Nigeria. But in doing that, we believe in equity, we believe in justice, we believe in fairness.
“As the governor of this state, I will vote for the unity of this country. I will vote for anything that will unite Nigeria.
“I will not support anything that will divide Nigeria. And that is what necessitated the principle of live and let’s live.
“If only one person continues to live, things will not be good. It’s party, it is about Nigeria. I am a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, unrepentant member, who, in fact, built this party when people ran away,” he stated.
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