Describes Him As A Spent Force.
The Rivers State Government has reacted to the remarks made by the former governor of Jigawa State, Alhaji Sule Lamido, concerning the State governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, describing it as disdainful.
Lamido had during an interview with Channels television, said Nyesom Wike doesn’t have a monopoly over the Rivers electorate.
He was reacting on the crisis bedeviling the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the leading opposition in the country.
Wike has been having some disagreement with the Presidential Candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, since losing the Presidential primary of the party.
But in a press statement by the Special Assistant to Governor Wike on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, said on Wednesday, that the state government cannot deny that Alhaji Lamido has an inalienable right to his personal opinion.
The statement added that he lacked the right to malign governor Wike, whose immense contributions to the sustenance of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, is not in dispute.
“It is rather appalling that at a time when concerted efforts are being made by lovers of true democracy and the unity of the party, to resolve some inherent contradictions plaguing the PDP, Alhaji Lamido and his cohorts, who have since lost their relevance in the polity, are busy creating friction and schism
“Governor Wike, has never claimed to be custodian of the over three million votes in Rivers State. But as the leader of the PDP and good people of Rivers State, anyone who underrates the governor’s political pedigree or dares to ignore his influence in the State and beyond, will be doing so at his own peril
“We wish to remind Alhaji Lamido that governor Wike has never left anyone in doubt about his capacity to sway the voters in Rivers State in a direction that benefits the people and the State, in the overall. When he speaks, Rivers people will listen, no doubt.
“Perhaps, Alhaji Lamido thinks Nigerians are suffering from selective amnesia to have forgotten in a hurry, the ignoble role he and his cohorts played between 2014 and 2015, that culminated in the defeat of the PDP in 2015 general election.
“We hope that he is not up in such scheme again to cause a repeat of that history. Otherwise, if Alhaji Lamido has any modicum of conscience, he won’t be making disparaging comments about Governor Wike, whom many have described as the pillar of the PDP since 2015.” The statement reads.
The statement stated that the Rivers State government said that no well-meaning member of the PDP would describe governor Wike as ‘insignificant’ in the affairs of the PDP.
“With all modesty, only persons plagued by schizophrenia psychosis will ascribe any form of relevance to Alhaji Lamido, under whose leadership the PDP has woefully lost two governorship elections in Jigawa State in quick succession.”
The statement further recalled that “Under Lamido’s watch, as a governor of Jigawa State in 2015, the APC governorship candidate, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, scored a total 648,045 votes to defeat his PDP opponent, Malam Aminu Ringim, who scored a total 479, 447 votes. Worst still, in 2019, governor Abubakar polled 810,933, while the PDP candidate scored 288,356.
“Such records depict that Alhaji Lamido cannot and does not have such political following that will benefit the PDP. Those who want electoral victory for the PDP are not dampening the morale required for political offensive at APC, but Alhaji Lamido is cracking the wall of unity badly.
“Let it be told that in 2015, governor Wike, as an opposition candidate in Rivers State polled 1,029,102 votes to defeat the then ruling APC governorship candidate, Dakuku Peterside, who managed to garner a paltry 124,896 votes. And in 2019, the governor also won by landslide. This are marks of political sagacity and determination to keep PDP at a leading pedestal.
“So, as the 2023 general elections beckons, we wish to advise Alhaji Lamido to redeem his battered political image by delivering Jigawa State to the PDP, if he can”, the statement said.
