The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, on Monday opened up on the Peoples Democratic Party presidential primary and accused some PDP governors of sabotaging him.
Wike, who said this at a reception organised for him by the people of the state in Port Harcourt after his arrival from Abuja, venue of the primary, revealed how he was betrayed by some governors from Southern region.
The governor, who came second during the party primary which was held in Abuja on Saturday, stated this as there were indications on Monday that the PDP governors would soon meet as part of moves to pick Atiku’s running mate.
He said some PDP governors ganged up with some vested interest groups to derail the quest of southern Nigeria to produce the next president.
According to him, it was the agreement of the southern governors that the presidency should come to the South, and he did not betray that agreement.
Wike in a statement by his media aide, Kelvin Ebiri in Port Harcourt, described as shameful the inability of some of those who were part of the agreement to stick to the agreement when it mattered.
The governor accused them of selling out, and frustrating the collective efforts that would have secured the PDP presidential ticket for the South.
The statement reads, “I contested in an election(primary)based on the principle and agreement with all Southern governors and leaders of the South that the presidency should go to the South during this period. We have done our part. We never betrayed anybody because it is not in our blood to betray. But it is a shame to those people, some of the governors from the South, they are thepeople that were used to sabotage our course.”
“Look at a region ganging up, then you, your own region cannot gang up. You became tools to be used against the interest of your people, and you think you have won, you have lost.
“You will continue to be perpetual slaves. Rivers people, you don’t need to bother yourselves. PDP needs us. If they say they don’t need us, they should wait,” he added.
The governor explained that he joined the presidential race to offer service and advance the interest of Nigeria, adding that In the process, he was confronted by a few individuals who wanted somebody they could control and he declined to be such a puppet.
“The winner(of the ticket) also saw it. They underrated us, but now, they will not underrate us again. We have all it takes to do whatever we want to do.
“It is a matter of you being firm, it is a matter of you being hopeful. There is nobody that is born greater than us in this country, therefore, we cannot be second class citizens. We can’t.
“We just used this one to tell them that enough is enough. We made them not to sleep. We made them not eat. We made all of them from wherever they said they come from to know that there is somebody who can take them on. This country does not belong to one particular zone. If people are afraid of talking it is their business. I cannot be a second-class citizen in my country.”
“Some of them, their in-laws are governors in the ruling party, but they want to interfere in what happens in the PDP. Some of them, their brothers are governors in the ruling party and they want to interfere in the PDP,” he alleged.
