Governor Nyesom Wike, yesterday, has said Rivers State will pitch its tent with the the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the selection of principal officers for the House of Representatives.
Wike said the state would support any candidate unanimously presented by the APC for the position of Speaker of the lower legislative chamber.
Wike spoke on Monday when the Deputy Speaker of the House, Ahmed Wase, led a delegation of other lawmakers on a courtesy call to Government House, Port Harcourt.
The governor, however, insisted that those to be nominated as principal officers in the House of Representatives must be individuals with requisite experience.
He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 11 of the 13 federal constituencies in the state, and that the lawmakers-elect would back whoever the national leadership of the ruling APC presents as candidates for the Speaker of the House.
“The way we are now, the truth must be told that we are going to support the leadership of your party at the national level. I am not going to support anybody that is coming from anywhere.”
Wike said only those with requisite experience and the capacity to stabilise the country should be presented as principal officers of National Assembly.
“You (Wase) are an experienced person. What we require now is experience as far as legislature is concern. Experience will stabilise the House. So you don’t require a green horn.”
Wike said he remained grateful to APC governors and other leaders of the party for zoning the party’s presidential ticket to the South.
Wase told Governor Wike that he was in Port Harcourt with his delegation, which cut across various political parties, to solicit his support ahead of the election of the Speaker of the House.
“Your excellency, we just finished the national and presidential election , we are about to go into the National Assembly politics and that is why we are here to seek your support; to seek for your prayers and blessing,” he said.
Wase commended Wike for his stance on power shift to the South saying the governor has distinguished himself as a man of character and firm believer in the unity of the country.
Lawmaker representing Emure/Gboyin/Ekiti-East Federal Constituency, Femi Bamisile, commended the G-5 governors, saying their insistence on power shift made it possible for a Bola Tinubu, southerner to emerge as president-elect in the February presidential election
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