By Chimezie Godfrey
As the heat in the political arena intensifies, a Coalition of Youth Support Groups has declared its support for the presidential aspiration of Rivers State Governor, Nyesome Wike.
This was made known in a press release signed by the National Co-ordinator Oluwatosin Ojo and National Secretary Ibrahim Abdullah, of the Coalition, made available to Newsdiaryonline, Tuesday.
The Coalition quoted Thomas Jefferson when he said, “In matters of Principle,stand like a rock, in matters of method, swim with the current”.
It noted that at this time in Nigeria’s history, the yearning for effective leadership that is founded on solid principles and pragmatic approach to issues, cannot be overemphasised, while calling on Nigerians to shove all forms of sentiments aside and support Gov Wike as he has all it takes to sail the Nigerian ship.
According to part of the statement, “It is in line with this clarion call that the news of the declaration of intention to run for President by Governor Nyesome Wike was received with great excitement.
“He is a leader who possesses the qualities and the courage to salvage the country from the claws of economic saboteurs in the current administration.
“There is no question about Nyesom Wike being one of the most eminently qualified Nigerians suited to lead this country at this crucial point in time. His pedigree as the architect of modern Rivers state as demonstrated through his immense transformation of the landscape and unprecedented human capacity development, a unifier, a dogged fighter, a charismatic technocrat and an eloquent speaker among several other virtues, confers a great deal of advantage on him.
“He has transformed the economic fortune of Rivers state and continues to use same fortune for the improvement of the welfare of Nigerians across the country. His benevolence in leadership knows no bounds as the impact of his empathy and compassion have been felt in far away Sokoto, just as it has been felt in nearby Benue.
“He is an all weather pilot who is trained and disciplined as proven by his “over two” decades of membership of the PDP at various levels, that he would rather build than destroy, endure than explode and maintain his integrity and ideology in the same party than gallivant in search of opportunism.
“He has also made immense sacrifices to keep the party alive through the eight years of being an opposition. On this merit we declare that we support his bid to the presidency and we shall begin mass mobilizations in our network around the country to see to the actualization of this divinely inspired mandate.”
The coalition further stated that Gov Wike has proven himself to be a man loyal to his convictions, and has remain a steadfast member of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) through the thick and thin.
“He speaks audaciously from a point of view of conviction and does not mind being the lone voice in the desert, speaking to drive home points, time and again he has risked his own well-being to speak truth to power and defend the interest of his people and party.
He has proven himself to be a man loyal to his convictions, he has remain a steadfast member of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) through the thick and thin of the recent history of the party and it is only right that he should be rewarded with the candidacy of the PDP as he is not a fair weather politician who defects at convenience to ruin the party’s chances at the polls and later return to seek re-election on the same platform he contributed to sabotaging, ” the statement added.
