The Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has denied insulting Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members from the South West, few days before the recently concluded national convention of the party. Recall that before the convention, one of the aspirants, Chief Bode George in his withdrawal statement accused Wike of insulting the South West when he appeared on Channels Television and called on him to tender unreserved apology.
According to him “I cannot be part of this criminal allegation. The PDP is now mangled. I hereby withdraw from the fraud. As a Yoruba patriot, I will stand for our people. Governor Wike must tender an unreserved apology to the Yoruba people for his unguarded utterances against the Yoruba race. I listened to my younger brother and I see it as an insult. I consider it as an insult," he added.
Responding, Gov. Wike said he never insulted any individual or region. He also debunked reports that he hijacked the soul of the party by imposing his candidate on the party.
“When people want something, you hear all sorts of stories. Someone comes to you that he wants your support and you do not give him because you have someone else you are supporting, then he will say you are imposing and all that.
If you had supported him, it would not be imposition. What we have here is not a case of imposition; if it had been imposition, the party would have come out to say only aspirant A or B should be chairman. It has never happened in the history of the national convention in PDP, where many aspirants are jostling for the same position. So where is the imposition?
We must learn to be good winners and good losers; you cannot expect that because you have gone to delegates to convince them, then they must all support you. They will listen to everybody and at the end of the day, they will make up their minds.
What did I say about the Yoruba? They told me that the South-West region has never produced the national chairman of the party and that giving it to them would change the fortune of the party in the region and I told them that the South-West too has never produced the national chairman.
I also asked them that when the South-West produced the president, what was the fortune of the party and how would national chairman of the party change the fortune of the party in the region. That was what I said. So, how did I insult anybody?”
