Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State on Thursday promised to resolve Nigeria’s rising insecurity and take the country to an enviable height if elected president in 2023.
Wike, an aspirant on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said he would make use of his wealth of experience over the years to bring sanity to Africa’s largest economy currently plagued by security challenges.
The presidential hopeful stated this when he and some other members of the PDP paid a courtesy visit to Oba Ewuare II, the Oba of Benin, in Edo State.
The governor said his visit to the Oba was to seek the palace’s royal blessing as he begins the journey to contest for the country’s top job in the 2023 election.
“I have come to Edo State to talk to delegates who will be participating in the national convention coming up on the 28th and 29th of May, 2022. I have come to talk to them because I am making myself available to vie for the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“I think that we require a courageous and fearless leader. We cannot continue to fold our arms in this situation. I believe if PDP gives me the mandate, with my experience as a former chairman of a local government area, former minister, and governor, I’ll put my experiences to practice to help the country for the betterment of the citizens.
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“There is insecurity everywhere. The primary aim for me is to tackle insecurity and every other thing will follow because you cannot have food when people cannot go to farms, you cannot keep the economy going when investors cannot come. Nobody wants to invest in an insecure place. These days, people are being killed and women raped on their farmlands. Terrorists have taken over. There is no day you wake up and not hear that people have been killed. Something has to be done because we cannot continue like this.
“By the grace of God, if given the mandate, and I come out victorious in the election, all this will be a thing of the past.
“There was a time in Rivers when kidnapping and cultism were on the increase, I met with security agencies and provided what they wanted to secure the state. I supervised them and provided funds for intelligence. If you don’t provide funds for intelligence, all the arms you are buying will be a waste; intelligence is key.
“I am here to seek your royal blessing and then move on to talk to delegates that would be participating in the party’s national convention”, Wike said.
The Benin monarch commended the governor for his projects in Rivers State, saying that the aspirant has been doing “people’s democracy”.
The Oba of Benin prayed that “he doesn’t come across anyone that will misinform him in this political sojourn he has embarked on.
“Election is here again, we pray to God almighty to guide us. I visited you before now and I admire what you have been doing there; the fantastic projects to look after the people of Rivers State.
“This journey that you have embarked on, we are comfortable with you. You know I have a personal love for you and whatever group you decide to join it will be luck on their side because the spirit of our ancestors will be with you”, the Oba said.
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