PDP may cease to exist if it loses 2023 presidential election – Wike

On Saturday, Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike stated that he was the only PDP candidate who could defeat the incumbent APC.

When Mr Wike met national delegates of the PDP’s Lagos chapter in Ikeja with some PDP chieftains, he made this comment.

The candidate, who stated that he was not running for the vice president to please anyone, stated that if elected, peace, security of people and property, sustainable infrastructure, food security, prosperity, and economic turnaround will be prioritized.

He stated the country now needed a strong and courageous leader like him, and that a bold leader would make painful decisions to address the country’s problems.

“The issue now is who can win the election for PDP. Who has the capacity to face the APC? Who will win election for PDP? That is me here.

“I will face APC squarely. If you give me this ticket on May 28 and May 29, go home and sleep with your two eyes closed,” Mr Wike said.

The governor stated that the PDP must do everything in its power to avoid losing the presidential election in 2023.

“If we lose the presidential election in 2023, we can as well forget PDP.

“I have been tested in terms of performance. Mine is ‘talk and do’,” he added.

Wike, who promised to repeat his remarkable achievement in Nigeria, promised to give leadership that every Nigerian could be proud of.

The aspirant urged Lagos delegates and leaders to unite and work together to ensure his victory in the primary.

“I know APC very well, allow me to face them. I am begging you, delegates, allow me. Support me in taking the power from APC and bring it back to PDP.

“I depend on the South-west. If the South-west gives me the votes, I have won the election. Donate all your votes to me,” he said.

Some party officials hoping to run for the PDP presidential ticket presently, according to the PDP chieftain, were the ones who put the former ruling party into opposition when they departed in 2015.

“I will never leave this party,” Mr Wike, who has been with the PDP since 1998, added. By the grace of God, PDP has helped me become who I am today.

Mr. Wike, on the other hand, stated that even if he did not win the primaries, he would never leave the PDP, promising to back whoever did.

The governor, who urged the Lagos PDP to halt infighting and division, stated that the party would not win in the state if it was not united.

Mr. Wike’s group was led by Ibrahim Dankwambo, a former governor of Gombe who praised the presidential candidate as a daring and courageous leader with the ability to move Nigeria forward.

Mr. Dankwambo described Mr. Wike as a “consistently straight leader” who stood for the PDP even when times were rough, adding that he excelled in all public roles held.

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State was also in the delegation, and he highlighted that Mr Wike had performed admirably not only for the PDP national body but also for the Lagos State chapter.

Mr. Makinde expressed confidence that Mr. Wike would be elected as the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2023 and would win.

Mr. Wike has the expertise and capacity to govern, according to Aivoji Philips, Chairman of the PDP in Lagos state, who said that the state chapter had been able to obtain a new secretariat in Lagos thanks to the contender.

Former governors Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) and Donald Duke (Cross Rivers), a former deputy governor, Moses Agboola (Oyo), a senator, Philips Aduda (FCT), and Mohammed Adoke, a former justice minister, were among the PDP chieftains in Mr Wike’s entourage, InsightnaijaTV reports