By Joseph Edegbo-
River State Governor and PDP Presidential Aspirant, Nyesom Wike has told the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC that governance only exist when you protect lives and property of the citizenry.
Wike who stated this in Kaduna on Monday in continuation of his tour to meet delegates ahead of the party’s primaries, attributed the insecurity to the inefficiency of those in power.
While lamenting over the situation bedevilling Kaduna state and the hardship being experienced by the residents as a result of the activities of terrorists.
“I am here today to say that this country needs rescue, we came here to say we must not take the sentiment to 2023 election, we came here to tell you that what PDP requires now is to get somebody who is courageous, who can withstand this party and win this election in 2023, am not here to tell you that am just a mere presidential aspirant, I want to win the election if you give me the ticket on 29 and 30 May 2022.
“It is no longer a story the situation our country found itself under APC, take for example with the state we are today, Kaduna state is one of the most peaceful states, people travel freely, no leader In the north will say that he does not have a house in Kaduna state, people can leave Abuja 10 in the night and come to Kaduna when I was a minister I come by road, but today what is happening, Kaduna has lost its glory and it is because of the inefficiency of those in the government.
“Every now and then, people are attacked, kidnapped, we cannot continue with that, there are all military formations in the state, yet it is still attacked, whether you are on the road, at home, you are been attacked, kidnapped, so insecurity does not know whether you are Muslim or not, hunger and poverty do not know same, one thing is to note that any person who is taking office will take an oath of office that you will protect lives and when you cannot protect lives and property, there is no more governance,” Wike said.
On the delegates, Wike affirmed that he was optimistic that 60 out of the 78 delegates from the State would vote for him, while the rest 18 can be shared among other aspirants.
According to him, the party needs someone like him who can take back power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and rescue the country from the mess it found itself.
The Presidential Aspirant announced a donation of 200 million Naira to victims of insecurity in the State.
Responding, former Governor of Kaduna State and one time National Caretaker Chairman of PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said he would make Governor Wike President if he had the power due to his contribution to the survival of the PDP during its trying moments.
The PDP chieftain said, “without collaborative efforts, PDP would not have been existing the way it is now, all these aspirations and declarations we are having today, we would have been doing it elsewhere.
‘When the Court of Appeal judgement came out against us, and we knew we were right, everybody was running away. Then-Governor Wike called me and asked me, are you ready for this fight? I said yes. He said, we are going to reclaim our party, what do you need? How do we go about it? And the rest is history. Yes, many other people contributed in so many other ways, but there is no single individual who contributed as he did for us to have the PDP that we have today.
“If is it an appointment, and I have the power to appoint, I would simply just appoint you and you will go home and rest, but it is a democracy, it is a convention, the delegates know those who have been with them and will continue to be within them, the party people know. And I am vigorously working for it,” Makarfi said.
