Presidency: South must complete its 8 years – Wike

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has insisted that the southern part of Nigeria must complete its two full terms of eight-year presidential slots in the spirit of fairness and equity.

Senior Special Assistant to the minister on Public Communications and Social Media, Mr Lere Olayinka said Wike stated this position on Sunday, during his special Christmas visits to Emohua and Ikwerre Local Government Areas of Rivers.

While addressing the people, Wike maintained that President Bola Tinubu, a southerner, should be supported to complete his first term and re-elected for a second term until 2031, in line with the principle of power rotation in Nigerian politics.

He said that party affiliation should not stop anyone from supporting Tinubu’s second term bid.

“The South must complete their eight years. It doesn’t matter which party we belong to give Mr President the needed support to succeed.

“In 2031, after the South must have completed its eight years through President Tinubu, we will know what to do next,” he said.

He advised politicians to honour political agreements to build the needed trust, confidence and harmony among political actors and the electorates.

He reminded Ikwerre people how they took risks to support Tinubu during the 2023 elections when others were not courageous enough to do so.

“In 2023 when it was difficult to campaign for Tinubu and when people were not sure he would emerge as President, the Ikwerre knew politics is about risk and they took the risk.

“If you look at the votes that made Tinubu win in Rivers, the votes were majorly from Ikwerre.

“So, when it mattered most, we stood on his mandate, not this people coming out now to shout on your mandate. When it was important they couldn’t shout on your mandate.

“You take stands when things are tough, not when food is ready. We took this position when things were tough, and we are still standing by it,” Wike said.