The erstwhile governor of Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike, said the visit which he and two other members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) paid to President Bola Tinubu was meant to salute him for some tough decisions he had taken so far.
Wike, alongside the governor of Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde and former governor of Delta State, Mr. James Ibori, were at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.
Ibori and Tinubu served as governors between 1999 and 2007. While Ibori was elected on the platform of the PDP, Tinubu held the ticket of the defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD) before he moved out to form the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which later morphed into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Wike and Makinde are members of the PDP and belong to the group of governors, the G-5, which withdrew their support for the party’s presidential candidate, Mr. Atiku Abubakar in the February 25 elections.
Other members of the group were immediate past governors of Benue State, Samuel Ortom; Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
Speaking after the meeting, Wike said they were in the Villa to give their support to the president on the removal of fuel subsidy.
“There’s no big deal about it. We are supporting all the decisions he’s taking; it shows that he’s prepared for the job and there’s nothing bad about that. It requires tough decisions for a country to move forward,” he said.
Asked if he was planning to dump the PDP for the APC, Wike replied: “Don’t say that.”
Earlier, Makinde said they visited the president to tell him he had started well and had the support of the generality of the people.
Asked if they discussed the subsidy issue, the governor said: “Yes, we discussed it. It’s something that is on top of public discourse right now. We know it’s a tough decision for the people and he needs the support of everybody to see this through.”
Recall that Wike and Makinde won their states for Tinubu in the presidential election and retained them for the PDP in the governorship and parliamentary elections.
“I went through a gruesome campaign, fought hard, supported by many of you and I won. Fair and square. Nyesom, I say thank you for your contribution to my victory,” he said during a visit to Rivers.
“I couldn’t have done it without some structural support you gave me which I can’t describe (repay) in my honouring of your invitation to commission this flyover,” Tinubu told Wike in May during the commissioning of some projects in Rivers State.
