No amount of subterfuge, lethargic accusations, sponsored attacks and deliberate concoction of falsehood will stop Nyesom Wike from pursuing his 2023 presidential aspirations, the Rivers State Governor’s media office has said.
The media office said this in response to what it described attempts by rival aspirants for the presidential ticket of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to deliberately rake up mud against Wike by using those it described as fifth columnists and hirelings to concoct stories that cannot be founded since the Rivers Governor declared his intention to seek the presidential ticket of the party.
But the media office said Wike’s presidential aspiration has come to stay as the Governor is more than ever before committed to traversing the length and breath of Nigeria to stimulate the right appeal as the day of the party’s primary election draws near.
It added that rather than embark on pull him down efforts, the other aspirants should join and encouraged Wike in his bid to provide the much needed leadership that will help tackle the problems confronting the country.
“The country is visibly challenged at the leadership level, exposing the weaknesses of our collegiate solidarity and national harmony. At such a time, we need a therapeutic leader who can heal the wounds in the land. We need a man in the orientation of Governor Wike, with the right frame of mind, comportment, sagacity, diligence and nationalism to step into the fray and create the right impetus for a holistic response to all our challenges.
“Rather than some aspirants trying to undermine his legitimate aspiration because they are afraid of his growing popularity, they should rather embrace and join him in his onerous task of rebuilding a country that has been grounded by sheer lack of courage, grit, guts, reason, character and boldness which a Governor Wike possesses in excess.
The full statement reads: In recent time, since His Excellency Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike ( N.E.W) declared his intention to run for the president of the Federal Republic, some aspirants have deliberately tried to rake up mud against his person, using fifth columnists and hirelings to concoct stories that cannot be founded.
“They accused the Governor of being “disrespectful” to other aspirants, accused him of being “desperate” for power, even when they failed to state the locus. We, at the Wike Media Office-WMO- are alarmed by the deliberate campaign of calumny and pull-him-down syndrome presently being deployed by those who cannot stand Governor Wike’s growing popularity across the country and trying effortlessly to demean his person and character.
“The fact must be stated that Governor Wike is bold, courageous and has guts to speak truth to power. His friends and colleagues appreciate his sense of camaraderie and ability to speak his mind, no matter whose ox is gored. Anybody who is aspiring to lead Nigeria must shy away from hypocrisy and cronyism, and be bold to speak truth to power to sustain a leadership that can fit into the expectations of Nigerians in a 21st century world.
“It is understandable that those who are purveyors of lies and pretenders to the throne will not like Governor Wike’s assertive and firm leadership style, especially in a country where lies, half-truths and propaganda have been elevated to an unimaginable level, but the truth must find Governor Wike at all times no matter how bitter. If that is what they quarrel about, too bad.
“Governor Wike is not ready to bow out from the sacred confines of honesty of purpose, truth and transparency. It is a leadership credential that cannot be faulted except by those whose pre-occupation rests on dubiety of intentions. Governor Wike has built network of friends across the socio-political divides, contributed to disaster management across the country, sustained a culture of leadership responsibility across board and ready to take up the gauntlet in charting a roadmap for a more robust appreciation of our enormous challenges. His colleague Governors understand his style and are at home with his simplicity, openness of mind and spirit of association which has promoted unity of purpose within the Governors Forum.
“Given our present ugly realities in Nigeria coupled with leadership failure that has atrophied development and growth of a nation of greater opportunities, we need an interventionist leader to urgently arrest the drift to save the country from further implosion. The country is heavily polarised with copious faultiness and cracks, deepening schism, impoverishment, hunger, poverty and starvation.
“The country is visibly challenged at the leadership level, exposing the weaknesses of our collegiate solidarity and national harmony. At such a time, we need a therapeutic leader who can heal the wounds in the land. We need a man in the orientation of Governor Wike, with the right frame of mind, comportment, sagacity, diligence and nationalism to step into the fray and create the right impetus for a holistic response to all our challenges.
“Rather than some aspirants trying to undermine his legitimate aspiration because they are afraid of his growing popularity, they should rather embrace and join him in his onerous task of rebuilding a country that has been grounded by sheer lack of courage, grit, guts, reason, character and boldness which a Governor Wike possesses in excess.
“Governor Wike’s presidential aspiration has come to stay. He is more than ever before committed to traversing the length and breath of Nigeria to stimulate the right appeal as the day of the party’s primary election draws near. No amount of subterfuge, lethargic accusations, sponsored attacks and deliberate concoction of falsehood will stop an idea whose time has come.
“The PDP as an organic party with clearly defined rules of engagement will do well to have a man who has contributed immensely to the growth and development of the party since inception in 1998 without defection. This is an unassailable truth that cannot be controverted by revisionists and hirelings.