Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed yesterday spoke on the 2023 presidential poll and how the flagbearer should emerge on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He proposed a Muhammed/Wike ticket, urging Nigerians to give the Rivers State governor the opportunity to serve them at the national level.

He said judging by the experience of Rivers State under Wike, Nigerians would be “luckier to have a man with the vision of knowing how to harness resources in improving the quality of life of the citizenry”.

Mohammed spoke when he inaugurated the Rumukwurushi-Elimgbu flyover in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

He said although he had declared his intention to run for president, he knew he needed people with better quality to accomplish his goal.

He said: “I want to say thank you to you because I wish you’ll be given the opportunity to bring this type of vision to the national level where you will be able to come and contribute your quota.”

Mohammed said he was happy to flag off the 10th flyover Wike had provided for his people in his second term.

He said: “Again, you can see the fidelity. The sincerity of purpose. I am not in my second term but I cannot remember any second term governor doing this kind of infrastructure, delivering to his people.

“He is not here for himself. I am not praising him. There is nothing that he will give me that I don’t have. But I really envy him for what he is. He is for his people.

“When some second term governors are busy preparing to go home, this man is even breaking new frontiers, doing new projects, and giving timelines and finances that will be able to be delivered during his tenure.”

Mohammed said Wike had distinguished himself as the new face of leadership in Nigeria, adding that he had raised the bar of subnational leadership in the country, making it more attractive.

He said: “Some of his templates that have really been implemented; some of them, you can touch them in terms of improving the quality of life of our people.

“We are copying from him because we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. He has done so much. He says the truth and does the right thing. You can see the conceptualisation. The way and manner the projects were conceptualized and financed.”

Mohammed noted that barely one year to the general election, he could only imagine that a governor would love his people so much and continue to invest resources for the progress of their society and economy with new projects.

He said: “That shows you that he wants to do so much and fulfil his promises. And that will spur me and encourage me to go back to Bauchi State and to still do more projects. Maybe, I will have the benefits of second term. But the time I have, I must use it very well.”

Wike said that the PDP had remained consistent in its pact with the electorate, unlike some politicians, who hardly kept promises but hinged their confidence on hijacking of electoral materials to smuggle themselves into office.

He said following the signing of the Electoral Act Amendment into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, politicians would have to show evidence of service to elicit support of the electorate.

He said gone were the days when soldiers and thugs were urged to snatch and hijack electoral materials, adding that with the card reader and transmission of election result electronically, votes could not be compromised.

He said: “The Electoral Act that the president has appended his signature, the good thing there now is, operation show what you have done.”

credit-Nation