The Labour Party's Mr. Peter Obi was not openly supported by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State during the election on February 25 since no one brought up the topic of an Igbo presidency with him.
NAN reports that Dr. Alex Ogbonnia, the Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide publicity secretary, claimed on Friday in Enugu that Wike made the statement during a meeting the socio-political group had with him on Thursday in Port Harcourt.
Ogbonnia claimed that Ohaneze Ndigbo questioned Wike about his purported opposition to Obi during the presidential election at the meeting.
According to him, Governor Wike was surprised that Ohanaeze was conducting an investigation and would be outlining his involvement in the presidential election.
The Rivers governor, according to Ogbonnia, said that the Southern Governors Forum first convened at Asaba and decided that following President Muhammadu Buhari, authority must go to the South.
The governors later convened in Enugu in September 2021 to reiterate their call for a transfer of power to the South, he added.
He stated that throughout the meetings, “the issue of presidency to the Southeast was never on the table.’’
Wike added that he made every effort to preserve the status of the Southern governors during his political journey.
Wike expressed his dissatisfaction over the fact that numerous prominent Southeasters deceived him and damaged the interests of the region by supporting a candidate from the north during the PDP presidential primary contest.
He continued by saying that he was "inspired to offer logistics for Obi when he was in Rivers for the presidential campaign" because of his unwavering devotion to the South.
Wike pointed out that, on the other hand, he declined to give Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate for his own Peoples Democratic Party, even a campaign site.
The governor went on to say that Wike's enemies were behind the content that was "circulating in the social media."
"I am a man of my convictions, and I have no motive to be dishonest or to owe anyone an apology.
Ogbonnia described Wike as saying, "I am always ready to explain my conduct any day and at any time, and I did not rig the presidential election against Obi.