The members of the Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), in Rivers have attributed the victory of the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the contributions of Governor Nyesom Wike of the state.
Members of the PCC, while thanking the Governor for his role, said they would support the preferred candidate of the state governor in the state, Siminialaye Fubara, as a way of reciprocating the support of the governor during the presidential polls.
The PCC, while stating this on Thursday in Port Harcourt, said Wike was instrumental to the success of the APC at the presidential poll, adding that without the efforts of the governor that their candidate would not have secured up to the 25 per cent vote, which is the constitutional requirement expected from the state.
Tony Okocha, the chairman of the Local Organising Committee of the APC for the campaign in the state and a member of the party’s PCC and Independent Campaign Council, ICC, Rivers state, commended the governor for the support that gave the party victory in the state.
Okocha noted that months before the APC presidential primaries, the team inaugurated structures across the state and canvassed support for Tinubu, despite opposition from the leader of the APC in Rivers State.
He claimed that following the bid, they were denied access to party revalidation, adding that they were unlawfully excluded from the electioneering processes with impunity without recourse to the spirit and letters of the electoral act, while alleging that members of the PCC had intended to sabotage the election, if not for their dedication.
Okocha noted that in 2015 and 2019 the APC could not win any election in the state and could not also secure 25 per cent of votes for their presidential candidate.
He said: “We note seriously and unashamedly, that in 2015, we held the rims of governance in Rivers State as members of the APC.
“We pulled together all efforts individually and collectively, yet we couldn’t secure 25 per cent of the total votes cast for the presidential candidate of our party during the presidential election.
“It was worse in 2019 when we all still worked together with a Super Minister, security apparatchik and malleable election personnel, we couldn’t produce the required 25 per cent for our presidential candidate.
“But in 2023, against all expectations, APC Rivers won and secured over 40 per cent of the total votes cast for the presidential candidate of our party.
“Of tremendous note is to put on records, the role of Governor Wike of Rivers State, a leading member of the G5 Governors (Integrity Group), who threw his heavy weight in political maestro and “maverism“ in support of the APC candidate.”
“This, to say the least, was the game changer. Thank you, Governor Wike. The political bulldozer.”
Speaking on the March 11, governorship and House of Assembly elections, Okocha enjoined residents of the state to be civil and rules-bound, adding that the state must not go into extinction because of power.
He noted that the poll would give the opportunity for the team to reciprocate the gesture of the governor of the state, adding that they would vote for Wike’s preferred candidate.
