The Governor of Rivers State,Nyesom Wike, has advised his party,the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to apologise to Nigerians over the recent comments of Atiku Abubakar, its presidential candidate in Kaduna State that what the north need is a northerner,not an Igbo or a Yoruba person as President Muhammad Buhari’s successor.
Wike,in a statement by his Media Aide,Kelvin Ebiri,on Monday noted that such statement if “true” is a threat to the unity of Nigeria considering the current happenings in the country.
Wike who just returned from Spain on Monday with his counterparts,Seyi Makinde of Oyo State,Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Samuel Ortom of Benue state made the appeal at the Omagwa international airport in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
He added, that such statement could further heightened tension in the country as well as deepening the feeling of alienation among Nigerians.
NPO had on Saturday reported the statement made Atiku Abubakar while speaking in an interactive session of the Arewa townhall policy dialogue in Kaduna
The former vice-president said northerners need a president who hails from the north and not someone from an Igbo or Yoruba extraction.
Reacting, Governor Wike said he found the statement hard to believe, adding that if true, PDP needs to apologise to Nigerians.
“I don’t believe that my candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could make such a statement. But assuming he did make that statement, and this is one of the things we have been saying, this country needs to be united and part of the way you unite it is to include everybody,”he said.
“That has now confirmed to me one of the reasons why those of them in their camp do not want Ayu to resign because they do not want Inclusivity.
“I don’t know how those who are packaging the presidential candidate will allow him to make such a statement. I was reading where somebody was saying that it was a direct response to a question he was asked.
“Be that as it may, I don’t think that it was necessary at this time. As people who are going in for election, as people who want Nigerians to trust them to have allowed such a statement to be made, if the statement was made, as they said, I think, as a party, we need to apologise to Nigerians — assuming the statement was made.
“People are denying that it was made but if you watch the video, it appears true. But people are saying with recent technology, anything can be done.
“This requires further explanation by our party, because Nigerians, as it is today, we can’t go this way if we want this country to remain as the way our founding fathers struggled, laboured, and toiled all the night to see that there is a country called Nigeria.”