Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State claimed that President Muhammadu Buhari and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, meddled in the 2019 governorship poll in the State.
The accusation was made during the flag-off ceremony of the construction of internal roads in Igwuruta, Ikwerre Local Council of the state, performed by Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State.
Wike said: “I heard Mr. President say, yesterday, that he will not interfere (in the 2023 election). He told the governors he will not interfere. In the other one (2019), you interfered by sending people to come and finish us in Rivers State.
“Thank you, Mr. President, for saying you will not interfere or intimidate anybody, which means there’s no way for your party.
“Of course, he interfered, the last time, by using the army, through the former Minister of Transportation. But the people stood up and said no, this will not happen.
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“I thank Mr. president that he wants to leave a legacy of conducting a free and fair election.”
Commenting on the pledge by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to give Nigerians a free and fair election, Wike said: “My problem is INEC, whether they will do what they said they will do. They are making promises. I don’t know whether they will keep to it. If INEC will keep to the promise that Nigeria will get a better election, I will be so happy. Everybody will see with his or her eyes. Abuja does not vote; it is the people here that will vote.”
The governor also berated a certain leader from the South-South saying, “What will they tell their children; people who will like to eat their own share, eat their children’s share and eat their grandchildren’s share? When somebody, at the age of seventy-something, is lobbying to be Chief of Staff, what will his own children lobby for?”
Source: Guardian