TheCable

Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, says Rivers state “made the right choice” by voting for Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the presidential election.

Tinubu won Rivers, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) state, amid the face-off between Nyesom Wike, the governor, and the national leadership of the PDP.

Siminialayi Fubara, candidate of the PDP, however, won the governorship election in the state by a landslide. Fubara is believed to be the anointed candidate of Wike.

On Thursday, el-Rufai was in Rivers to inaugurate some road projects constructed by Wike.

Speaking at the event, the Kaduna governor thanked the people of Rivers for “voting quality over political sentiments”. He also commended Wike for providing the leadership which made Tinubu’s victory in the state possible.

The Kaduna governor said Wike’s position that the presidency should be zoned to the south after President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure was in the interest of Nigeria.

“On behalf of our presidential candidate and our party, I want to thank you and the good people of Rivers state for making the right choice in voting for Bola Tinubu. It is the first time since the Fourth Republic started in 1999 that PDP was unable to get 25 percent of votes in Rivers state,” he said.

“It shows the people of Rivers can differentiate and they know when to vote for quality over political sentiments. We want to thank you for providing that leadership, Governor Wike. This country belongs to all of us and we have a duty to do all it takes to make Nigeria an egalitarian, progressive and prosperous society.

“You (Wike) have done a lot in Rivers to give every Nigerian living here a sense of belonging. We are grateful to you for that and I want to assure you on behalf of the northern APC governors that stood up and insisted that after eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, power must shift to the south was an act, not only of belief in one Nigeria, but also in our enlightened self-interest.

“This country has the potential to lead the African continent and indeed the black race. But that is only when Nigerian leaders come together and do what is best for the majority of our people.

“This is what the northern APC governors stood for and this is what we believe Governor Wike stands for.”

In his remark, Wike appreciated el-Rufai and other northern APC governors who backed zoning of power to the south when it “mattered most”.