Three states are seen as very strategic in national reckoning: economy, population, and political power. These are Lagos, Rivers and Kano. Every political party seeks to control at least two of these power states. Sometimes, federal ruling parties manage to capture only one. The then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) only controlled Rivers State but always fought hard to capture Lagos and Kano. For some time now, Rivers State has not played in this league, always not contributing to the national ruling party.
Now, the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has declared that the 2023 general elections would prove to many the strategic political importance of the state.
He has for months threatened to mobilise over three million votes in the state to one direction so that the bloc votes could determine the outcome of the presidential election coming up in about one month’s time.
His opponents have tried to call his bluff, saying no one person had the votes of the masses of the state in his or her pocket especially in view of the new voting system.
Wike however, continues to be sure the votes of the state would be in one direction. He said the state cannot continue to be a dumping ground where the interests of the people would be considered inconsequential.
Governor Wike spoke at Elele Civic Centre, venue of the flag-off of construction work on the Elele Internal Roads in Ikwerre Local Government Area on Monday, January 9, 2023.
He said Rivers State stood very strong in the scheme of national affairs, and should be rewarded when it gives anybody votes.
He wondered why some persons in the state, instead of addressing their minds to that reality, rather issued what he called political threats against the state.
He threatened those issuing threats to the state’s interests.
Wike said Rivers State has remained the bedrock of the PDP since 1999, and had provided it with bulk of votes and logistics than any PDP State in the country.
The governor insisted that if there was no Rivers State there would not have been a PDP, but that despite the State’s contributions, there was nothing of note, in terms of project that could be reckoned as benefit to justify the support.
Wike has however always boasted of pumping many federal projects to the state when he was minister in the PDP government in the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
He pointed to how he said Rivers State refused give President Muhammadu Buhari any serious votes in 2019, and says people should shiver when Rivers talks.
