by Mike Odiegwu, Port Harcourt
Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has ruled out the possibility of the G-5 Governors holding a fresh peace talk with the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the party’s presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar.
The Governor countered insinuations the group of five Governors fighting for justice, equity and fairness in PDP were working at cross purposes.
He said the Integrity Group was intact and would make their impact felt on February 25.
The Governor, according to a statement in Port Harcourt on Thursday by his Special Assistant, Media, Kelvin Ebiri, said no G-5 Governor had so far attended the PDP presidential campaign in their respective states.
Wike said: “Even before the Enugu Governor received him (Atiku) in Government House, we knew about it. We cannot tell you the approach. Forget about what people are saying, the 25th is here. Everybody will see it.
“We can’t do that again. It’s over. We have said it and there is nothing anybody can do about it now. They believe that they have won elections so they don’t need us. I am not ready to sit down again with anybody.”
He said persons, who had chosen to ignore the G-5 and other members of the Integrity Group, would soon realise their grave mistake after February 25.
Wike, who said he had no apology for hosting the All Progressives Congress, (APC) Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other leaders of the party in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, however declined to mention his preferred presidential candidate.
He said PDP leaders in Rivers State had already taken a position on whom the State would vote for and that the decision had been communicated to party stalwarts and supporters ahead of next week’s election.
The Rivers Governor reiterated that he would never leave the PDP and boasted that he remained one of the most relevant members of the party.
Speaking on President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast, the Governor said the President’s insistence the old N500 and N1000 notes ceased to be legal tender was tantamount to interference with a pending lawsuit at the Supreme Court.
Wike stressed that the president’s directive to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to reintroduce only the old N200 note into the economy was an affront to the Supreme Court.
“As far as I am concerned, this is a complete interference, which is not good for our democracy,” he said.