The President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, thanked the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Nyesom Wike, for his contribution to his victory in the February 25 presidential election.
Tinubu, who described Wike as a man of principle, said Rivers State played a major role in his winning.
Wike, who is a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) refused to support the presidential candidate of his party, Atiku Abubakar, in the election, a situation which ostensibly gave Tinubu victory in Rivers State.
According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, Tinubu won in Rivers State with 231,591 votes, while Atiku came distant third with 88,468 votes, behind Labour Party’s candidate, Peter Obi, who got 175,071 votes.
Tinubu, who was in Rivers State on Wike’s invitation to inaugurate projects, spoke during the unveiling of the Rumuokwuta/Rumuola Flyover Bridge built by the governor.
Speaking at the event, Tinubu said he was in the state to fulfill the pledge he made during the campaigns in Rivers, saying “if you make a promise, you keep it.”
The President-elect said, “Nyesom, I say thank you for your contribution to my victory. I couldn’t have done it without some structural support. I will never forget the pivotal role the great and wonderful people of this state played in my victorious campaign to become the next President of this country. You have my eternal gratitude.
“In his Excellency, Governor Wike, I see a man of principle. He took a principled stand that the Presidency should be returned to the South; and he had the courage to stand by his convictions, not minding whose ox was gored.
“He is, indeed, a man of great integrity. He did not choose to serve his own interests, rather, the interests of the nation and the people of Rivers State. I thank him for his selfless leadership.”
Tinubu pledged that “I will not marginalise any region, but will leave legacy projects across the length and breadth of Nigeria.”
He commended Wike for the giant strides he is making in the state, particularly the 12 flyovers constructed across the capital city, saying posterity would remember him.
He noted that with Wike’s accomplishments in the state, Nigeria would need the outgoing Rivers governor in higher capacities.
Earlier in his speech, Wike said the invitation for Tinubu to inaugurate projects in the state was a fulfilment of promise made during the President-elect’s campaign visit to Rivers.
He expressed appreciation to Tinubu for agreeing to visit Rivers State to open the project.
Wike, who threw jibes at the leadership of his party, the PDP, applauded the election of Tinubu which, he said, had shamed naysayers.
