2023: I won’t impose on Rivers people, my successor must have capacity to deliver ― Wike

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has said that his successor as governor in 2023 must have the capacity to deliver saying he would not impose any governor on Rivers people at the expiration of his second term in 2023.

Speaking during a solidarity visit by the Orashi Region of Rivers State at the Government House Port Harcourt on Saturday, the governor said power to choose a successor can never be extended as a gift to any group.

He said: “For the position of the governorship, if you have the capacity, come out and contest. Nobody zoned governorship to me, I struggled for it.

“I will not impose anybody on Rivers people as governor in 2023. I will not do it. I don’t even have that power, not to talk of giving it out. You cannot give what you don’t have. To be governor of Rivers State, you must have the capacity to deliver.”

He warned the people against the politics of bitterness, which he said has denied several Rivers communities access to developmental projects.

“Don’t allow anyone to sow seeds of discord among you,” Wike charged, adding that “politics should not divide us. Politics of bitterness does not make sense. All of us must not be in one political party. But you must support yourselves to attract projects to your area.”

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Wike urged the people of Orashi to remain steadfast in their march towards development advising them not to be intimidated as they seek development.

He called on Orashi people to form a united front as they work for their people.

“We must be able to work as a people. We will not abandon any projects awarded by the state government. You must work as a team to achieve results,” he said.

He called on communities to take steps to protect ongoing government projects and regretted that in Ahoada East and Ahoada West Local Government Areas, some youths disrupted execution of projects through vandalism and kidnapping.

The governor particularly decried the invasion of Western Ahoada County Grammar School, the Zonal Hospital Ahoada and Government Secondary School, Okarki by the people of the area.

Wike thanked the people of Orashi for their support, saying that their early support gave him the leverage to win his election.

Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibodum Nwuche, thanked the governor for siting key projects in Ekpeye land while describing the governor as a beacon of hope who plays politics of inclusiveness.

He said: “We thank Governor Wike for the projects in Ekpeye land. He has been a beacon of hope and has shown inclusiveness. He is a man with a large heart and he is very accommodating.”