Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has laughed off Senator Dino Melaye’s Kogi governorship ambition, saying the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain does not have what it takes to vie for such a position.
The governor was speaking during a media chat with selected journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
“When you give Dino that ticket, you know he won’t win in Kogi State,” Wike said during the parley.
“Why would Kogi people say they would vote for a candidate like Dino? Are we joking?”
He said the mere fact that someone is from a place does not equate to electoral success if such a person contests an election.
“Dino does not have what it takes [to be a governor] for crying out loud,” Wike maintained. “He knows me very well. He does not have what it takes to be a governor.”
According to him, if the PDP gives the ticket to the former Kogi West lawmaker, the party is doomed to lose the exercise.
“Does it mean now that if the PDP wants to win the election, it would give the ticket to Dino and you say tomorrow that you were rigged when you have already killed yourself?” he wondered.
“Are we saying that we want to win an election or just have a candidate?” the former minister asked.
The governor says he won’t campaign for the PDP if the party gives its governorship ticket to Senator Dino.
“Do you need to ask me that kind of question? Are you not aware that I would not do that?” Wike said when asked if he would campaign for the main opposition party if Dino wins the ticket.
He accused the party’s leadership of trying to “manipulate” the process in favour of Dino.
“Why are you trying to manipulate this in favour of one aspirant?” he queried.