A Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), chieftain, Alhaji Sule Lamido has said River state governor, Nyesom Wike “the natural heir” to the Presidential seat after Atiku Abubakar, the party’s candidate in the 2023 general election.
In an interview with VANGUARD, the former governor of Jigawa State said: “Wike is a huge treasure for the PDP and one of the best materials. If we win (in 2023), he is the natural heir to the throne because he has the quality, the aura, the charm, the charisma, and the age. I have been saying this: PDP is a family.
“There was a primary election and there were expectations but some of them were not met. So, it is natural for one to react. I can understand that. Governor Wike is somebody who is very forceful, who has done so well as a governor of PDP in his own state, and who has been very supportive of the PDP. But again, he was made by the PDP.
“He is somebody we must make sure we preserve and we must rescue him from his own anger,” he added.
Lamido stated that the Nyesom Wike is an asset to the PDP and a leader who has etched his name in glory given his performance as chief executive of the oil-rich state.
The APC leader has, however, blamed unnamed persons close to the governor for fuelling issues Wike has been responding to recently, stressing that the party must rescue the Rivers state governor and preserve him for the future.
He continued: “Whatever support he is giving to PDP is PDP’s right because a son does not say ‘I am doing this for my father.’ The party that made him is like a father.”
“He is right to be angry for having not achieved his own personal interest or ambition but again that is what leadership entails. He is a party man and the party is not his enemy. The party is his home, his own group, his own support, and therefore whatever might have been the failure of him to achieve his interest, should not be taken too seriously at a personal level.
Lamido further advised Governor Wike to be wary of those around him, noting that none of them has the capacity to make him realise his ambition.