On Thursday, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State praised Governor Nasir Elrufai of Kaduna State for maintaining his position and demanding that the Presidency be allocated to the South of the nation.

Governor Wike also complimented the APC governors from the north, saying that they will be well remembered by history.

Wike made this statement at the commissioning of a Link Road project in PortHarcout, Rivers state.

Recall that Wike and the other four PDP governors, collectively known as the G5, were at odds with the party leadership over zoning the party chairmanship to a candidate from the south. This demand eventually gave way to zoning the PDP’s presidential ticket to the south following extensive internal party peace efforts.

The governor of Rivers said Elrufai “always speaks his mind boldly for the interest of Nigeria.”

On behalf of the people of Rivers State, he added, “I want to take this opportunity to thank you and members of your team, especially some governors from the north in the All Progressive Congress, APC.”

“When it mattered most in this country, when Nigerians were discussing unity and how this country would be united and progressive, people like Elrufai came out and spoke boldly that for the unity of this country, the presidency, having been in the North for a period of eight years, should move to the South.” “You stood firm; you weren’t talking about it personally, but all you were talking about was the interest and unity of Nigeria,” the letter reads.

“I can assure you that history will be on your side tomorrow when it is discussed with those who talked about the unity of Nigeria.
You would have as well said, “Well, coming from one of the most populated zones in the country, this is my second term, let me throw in and vie for the presidency,” but you said, “Let it move to the south.”

Wike noted that the people of Rivers equally voted for the president of the South, as the results clearly showed.

“On behalf of the people of Rivers State, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude. Here, we also backed the Southern president. I won’t divulge who won our vote, but the results are clear. Who placed first, second, or third is unknown to me. However, it was crucial that the state’s residents support the southern presidency.

Governor Elrufai praised the Rivers people for choosing quality over sentiment in their vote.