Governor Nyesom Wike has told other parties to avoid campaigning in Rivers State, maintaining that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would sweep the oil-rich state in next year’s elections.
He spoke during the State Honours and Awards held at the Banquet Hall, Government House in Port Harcourt on Saturday.
“Lawyer, you must make money but here don’t worry yourself; nobody (opposition) would win here,” he said during the event, urging opposition parties not to waste their resources campaigning in the state.
“I told David Umahi, Governor of Kogi (Yahaya Bello), and Abubakar Malami (Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice) when they came to visit me, ‘Don’t put money here it won’t work; it is a no-go area’,” the governor added.
According to him, his government already has a successor and that is based on the good works of his administration.
“In my state, we know who is going to be my successor. I want to advise you if you are spending money on anybody, stop,” Wike said.
“Here, we have a successor. It is not by my power but by what we have done in this state. It is not that I want to impose a successor. It is not true. Bring a successor and tell people why you want to bring a successor.”
Wike, who is a former minister, has been at loggerheads with the leadership of the main opposition party since he lost the party’s presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar. The governor claimed the process was unfair, asking the PDP national chairman Iyorchia Ayu to quit his position since he (Ayu) and the former vice president are from the northern region.
While efforts to reconcile Wike alongside his allies have failed thus far, the party’s echelon is optimistic that a truce would be reached before the country goes to the polls next February.
But Wike’s political romance with top members of the opposition, observers say, is a major concern for the PDP who have been out of power at the centre since 2015.
