From Blessing Ibunge, Port Harcourt
Governor Nyesome Wike of Rivers State has appealed to Nigerians irrespective of their gender and ethnic background to see it as their solemn responsibility to end the All Progressives Congress (APCa��s) Federal Government in 2019.
He said that any vote for the party in next yeara��s election would amount to digging the grave for the burial of Nigeria.
Wike said that the nationwide breakdown of security, especially in APC-controlled states, exemplifies the failure of the administration to productively manage national resources.
The governor said that “Nigeria is in crisis. Never in the history of this country have we had crisis of this magnitude. Rather than resolve developmental challenges, they continue to give excuses for their failure.
“We must come together in 2019 to protect our votes. Supporting APC is like digging our graves. The country is already dead under their control. Each day, the country moves from one problem to anothera�?.
The governor accused APC leaders from the state of taking pride in de-marketing and destroying the economy of Rivers State for selfish political reasons.
He spoke on Thursday in Port Harcourt when thousands of Rivers women marched round the state capital to endorse him for a second term in 2019.
Wike equally appealed to the women to jealously protect their permanent voter cards, stressing that it remains their only weapon to remove APC from governance next year.
The governor announced a business empowerment scheme worth N500 million for the women in 2018. He said the fund will be domiciled at the statea��s Microfinance Bank and managed by the Ministry of Women Affairs.
He said the empowerment scheme will assist the women develop small scale businesses. The governor also stated that the on-going Rivers State Women Development Centre will be completed in this year.
The women declared that they would follow the endorsement with massive rural and urban mobilisation of all groups to vote overwhelmingly for Wike in 2019.
They marched from Mile One to the Government House, Port Harcourt, celebrating the governor and creating awareness on his achievements.
At the Government House, the women displayed banners and placards urging Wike to seek re-election.
The women were drawn from the 23 local government areas in the state, with each group highlighting the projects executed by the governor in their respective councils.
In a solidarity message, former Rivers State Chairman of the Federation of Female Lawyers, Barr. Florence Amiesimaka, said that Governor Wike had made the people proud through the construction of development projects, hence the endorsement.
She assured the governor that the women will stand with him all through the electioneering period up to his re-election.
The spokesperson for the Rivers South-East Women, Mrs. Charity Demua, declared that the women had experienced good governance under the leadership of Wike, saying that they will reciprocate by re-electing him.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Ukel Oyaghiri, lauded Wike for his commitment to the welfare of women.
2019: Vote APC, destroy Nigeria a�� Gov Wike
