Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike has revealed that himself, together with other key figures within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) resisted pressures for former Senate President David Mark to emerge as the National Chairman of the opposition party.
Wike stated this during a media chat on Monday, where he opened up on internal party dynamics and his strong views on leadership selection.
“Let me tell you something,” Wike began, “when we started having issues of National Chairman in North-Central, there was pressure for David Mark to be National Chairman of PDP. We refused.”
When asked why the former Senate President was rejected despite his pedigree, Wike offered a blunt response: “Why not? What good will he bring to the party?”
He questioned Mark’s impact during his time as Senate President, noting that holding a position is not enough without tangible contributions to national development.
“He has been a Senate President in the party for 8 years. What are the things that happened? What is the improvement?” Wike asked rhetorically.
The former Rivers State governor said he would rather support a fresh face with genuine reformist intentions than career politicians with long tenures but little track record of impact.
“I have told you here, I prefer somebody who has not had any position, who has come to tell me that, ‘Look, I am doing this because I want to help with change, to achieve this and that,’” he explained.
Wike stressed, “I will not listen to anybody who has been in power for years, who has refused to contribute anything to the development of the country, and now you come to tell me this story that, ‘Look, we need to rescue this country.’ You were there, the country was sinking, did you rescue it?” he queried.
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