I never opposed Peter Obi, Bola Tinubu – Wike counters Atiku

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has asserted that he did not express opposition towards the presidential candidates of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, and the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, during the presidential campaign period.

He spoke at the commissioning of Chokocho-Igbodo Road in the Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Governor Wike expounded that his stance was centered on advocating for the rotation of power from the North to the Southern region of Nigeria, and he remains unappologetic about that stance.

In his words: “Whether you voted for Labour, I have no problem with you. Whether you voted for APC, I have no problem with you. That is what we have argued for: that the north has had it for eight years. Therefore the south must be there for eight years.

“As far as I am concerned, anybody from the south, that is my position. That is what we agreed in the Integrity Group that we must make sure that the south emerges as the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Each time I went for a campaign, nobody has ever heard me criticise Obi. Nobody has ever heard me criticise Asiwaju. I owe nobody any apology that people voted for the southern presidency.”

What you should know: Before the 2023 presidential election, Wike disregarded the Peoples Democratic Party's (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.

Wike, along with his Integrity group, advocated for the presidency to be rotated from the North to the South.

The governor also demanded that Iyorchia Ayu, the PDP National Chairman, step down and be succeeded by someone from the South, stating that the North should not be able to produce both the PDP's presidential candidate and National Chairman.