Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has told Uche Secondus, a former national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that he cannot speak on issues concerning their party as he is no longer a member of the party.
Wike was responding to Secondus’ claim that the Governor Wike has no powers to impose a presidential candidate on Rivers electorate.
This was after the Wike had, during the week, said that by January, he would announce to Rivers people who they will vote for during the 2023 presidential election.
According to Wike,he has never at any occasion said he would impose a candidate on them but would only tell them his choice of presidential candidate at the right time.
“I told him he would not be national chairman or conduct the convention. Did he conduct it? Was he at the national convention?” to which the crowd chorused, “No!”
“In any case, I never said I was going to impose my candidate on Rivers people,” he added. “I said I was going to tell Rivers people whom I’m going to support, whom I’m going to campaign for. But you see, you don’t blame them.
“When you didn’t finish secondary school, you will not understand the grammar that ‘I will tell Rivers people whom I want to support’ does not mean I said, ‘Rivers people, I will impose a candidate on you.’”
Wike argued that the only person that would defend the people of Rivers had their ear, adding that Secondus allegedly had no influence on them.
“You (Secondus) cannot defend the interest of Rivers people is that Atiku wins so you can get an oil block. That’s all. Just like the one you forced to be a senator in Rivers South-East because he was not supposed to be a senator. It was Magnus Abe that was supposed to be senator, an educated man at that level,” he said.
“I don’t know how Secondus would have the effrontery, the temerity to talk to somebody like me who finished primary school, secondary school very well, who went to university very well, went for youth service, came back for university, went to law school, was called to bar.
“I’m going to Rumuepirikom where I come from. I’m going to mobilise them to vote where I want them to vote. I will bring 98 percent of the vote. Let them assure their own candidate that they will bring five percent; I will bring 98 in my community.
“The community will say, ‘Look at it; what don’t we have, from chairman of local government, he gave us this. As chief of staff, he gave us this. As minister, we had this. As governor, see what we’re having.’
