Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Monday, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, held a closed doors meeting with Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, as well as his Oyo and Benue counterparts, Seyi Makinde and Samuel Ortom.
Former Cross River State Governor, Donald Duke, was also at the meeting held as the presidential primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party approaches.
The three governors and Duke, it was learnt, arrived at the former president’s Penthouse residence at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library at about 6:40 pm. The meeting ended about an hour later.
Wike later told newsmen that he led the PDP leaders to inform Obasanjo of his presidential ambition and to also seek his support.
Corroborating Wike, Obasanjo said the Rivers governor informed him of his presidential bid, saying Nigeria was a complex but not a difficult country to manage if it elects a “courageous leader.”
According to him, “Of course, Governor Nyesom Wike as a presidential aspirant came with Governor of Oyo, Governor of Benue, former Governor of Cross River and former Deputy Senate President and former Minister to express to me the desire and of course I made the point that I have always made that, I have ceased to be a partisan politician, I don’t belong to any political party, but if politics is the welfare of the people, I cannot cease to be a politician because I must always seek the welfare of the people.
“And of course, you all know what the situation of Nigeria is and anybody who doesn’t know that, is either not a Nigerian or is not being truthful to himself or herself and we need, as I often said, no one individual can say yes I can do it because the situation Nigeria is today, we need all hands, all Nigerian hands on deck to restore Nigeria and that is what Governor Wike is saying to me.
“Courage, he doesn’t lack it, and if you have courage and you have the conviction to speak your mind, well you will have a saying in this part of the world that a person who speaks the truth all the time may not even get a mat spread for him because you will incur the displeasure of people, but you need the truth to be spoken and to get ourselves to move Nigeria on the path of unity.”
Wike, in his response, affirmed that he had the courage and capacity to tackle insecurity if elected president.
Commenting on the zoning of the PDP presidential ticket, Wike said, “It’s not as if I am championing zoning, it’s provided in the constitution of PDP.
“Personal ambition will make us avoid or not do the right thing with impunity. But again, since they have decided there is no zoning, we are not running away, we have the capacity.
“As it stands today, you know that I’m the only candidate everybody is afraid of.”