Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, says its imperative President Muhammadu Buhari proves to Nigerians that he is ready to accede to the people’s requests.
Wike, however, warned that President Buhari would set the country ‘on fire’ by his refusal to implement some of the requests voiced out by leaders during the recent discussions with the presidential delegation led by the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari.
Gambari had recently led ministers and federal lawmakers to meetings with leaders of the six geopolitical zones as a way of addressing concerns raised in the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests.
Buhari’s CoS and the presidential delegation had met with governors and leaders of the South-South geopolitical zone in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, on Tuesday.
During the meeting, the South-South leaders, including Wike, had demanded the restructuring of the country in line with the principle of true federalism.
They argued that this would guarantee peace, security and stability in the country.
But while giving an update on the meeting on Thursday morning, Wike said the President still had the opportunity to implement the will of the Nigerian people and create a legacy for himself.
The Rivers State governor stated this while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday.
Wike said, “I am not a pessimist. I don’t believe that because you didn’t do what you agreed to do yesterday, therefore, you will not do what you agree to do today. Even if he (Buhari) has not done what he told Nigerians he would do, he can say, look, I promised Nigerians yesterday, I didn’t do that and that is affecting my integrity and so, for people who know me, I will implement what I have said.
“People have raised the issue that they don’t think anything will come out of the dialogues. I don’t agree with them. I believe that if the President does not do it, given the opportunity he has now, he will be putting Nigeria on fire.”
He stated that political will to implement what the people want is key in governance, adding that the President has to show leadership by listening to Nigerians and implementing the people’s requests.
The Rivers State governor further said, “He may not necessarily implement everything the people may want but let the people see the concrete evidence that under President Buhari, he has been able to implement one, two, three, four demands by the people.
“If he (Buhari) doesn’t take this opportunity now to implement some of these requests, I don’t think it will be very good for Nigerians and for his legacy.”