Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers described the victory of the Governor-elect, Siminalayi Fubara, as a reaffirmation of the state as one of the premier strongholds of the party, and describes Fubara as a quiet person, who will perform well as governor..
Gov. Wike said this in a statement issued by Special Assistant to the Governor on Media, Kelvin Ebiri, on Tuesday in Port Harcourt.
Wike described Fubara as an achiever, saying that as someone who was a part of his administration and knows where he left off, it is up to the new Governor-elect to make his mark and fill the “big shoe” he is leaving behind.
“For everybody, you determine what you want to do, you determine how your future want to be, if you way to go away politically it is left for you. See what I have done and I do know he (Fubara) is somebody who is calm, he is not the talking type, he is the quiet type but he is an achiever, he knows where we have stopped.
“It is for him to make his mark; it is for him to fill the big shoe I have left. He has worked with me, he has worked in the system from 2015. He resigned as Accountant General some months ago, he knows the government, he knows what the government has done,” Gov. Wike said.
Gov. Wike also commended party stalwarts in the state for remaining steadfast in defense of the state since he assumed office in 2015.
“Let me thank all of you for the support you have given us, how you stood firm to make sure that we defend what is Rivers’.
“In 2015, we did it; in 2019, we did it and in 2023, we have done it again. So, it is not surprising. God has always been with us,” he further said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Fubara Siminalayi of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who served as Accountant General under Governor Wike, as the winner of the governorship election held in the state on Saturday
Fubara polled 302,614 votes to defeat his closet rival Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who received 95,274 votes, Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Beatrice Itubo of the Labour Party (LP) who received 46,981 and 22,224 votes, respectively.
