Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has said he has no political axe to grind with the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.
He, however, maintained his stance that the only panacea to resolving the intractable crisis rocking the party is for the north to relinquish the position of the national chairman of the party to the south.
Speaking, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, when his political associates and Rivers elders, led by the Chairman, Rivers Elders Council, Chief Ferdinand Alabraba, visited his private residence in Rumueprikom to felicitate with him on his birthday, the governor insisted that the party Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, must go.
The governor recalled that a year ago, Rivers Elders urged him to contest for the office of President of Nigeria. According to him, he heeded the advice and almost clinched the PDP presidential ticket but for the manipulation of the process.
He said: “I don’t regret I ran for presidency. In the name of God, I am happy to make Rivers State proud. I am happy as far I am concerned. If they had allowed it to be what it is supposed to be, I would have won the election. But it’s okay. It has happened.
“People said because I lost election, it doesn’t matter. I didn’t lose election. This is my first time of trying to run for office of the president of Nigeria and we made impact. If it is easy, let them go ahead. Are they not the ones begging.”
He reiterated he did not have any personal problem with Atiku and explained that the lingering crisis in the PDP had to do with the demand from southern stakeholders that the national chairman, who hails from the north as the presidential candidate, should relinquish his position.
He added: “I have no problem with our presidential candidate. All I am saying is what is the interest of Rivers people? What is the interest of the South-South and the South?”
