Tobi Osindero
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to apologise to Nigerians over a statement made by its presidential flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku, while speaking during an interactive session with the Arewa Joint Committee in Kaduna on Saturday, had urged Northerners not to support a Yoruba or Igbo candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
“I know the whole of this country. I have built bridges across this country. I think what the average northerner needs is somebody who is from the north, who also understands the other parts of Nigeria, and who has been able to build bridges across the rest of the country.
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“This is what the northerner needs. He (the northerner) doesn’t need a Yoruba candidate or an Igbo candidate. This is what the northerner needs. I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of northern origin,” he said.
Reacting to the statement, Wike while speaking in Port Harcourt on Monday, said that the PDP must address the controversy urgently and apologise to Nigerians, lest the people start to see the party as one that “lacked justice and equity.”
He stated further that he doubted the possibility of Atiku making such a statement at a critical time of the nation’s history.
The Rivers Governor added that such disposition of the presidential candidate would justify his fight for equity, justice and fairness in the PDP.
