Wike to pick female running mate

The governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has said that his running mate will be a woman.

Wike, who spoke in Port Harcourt, yesterday, noted that his running mate will be announced formerly today, adding that the party had to go for a woman as part of its 35 percent affirmative principle.

He said that his running mate was from the Ijaw axis of the state, adding that the PDP was going to WIN at the state and presidential levels.

He noted that the era when women were only given bags of salt and few cups of rice as reward for their involvement in elections was over in the state.

Mr. Nyesom Wike,  governorship candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Rivers State,

He said: “We must move away from only empowering women. We must move away from giving them only wrappers and bags of rice during electioneering campaigns. Women are very important in every democratic set up and we should encourage them to occupy important positions in the country. If you look round the world, you will find out that women are entrusted with top leadership positions. If you look inward, you will also find out that women who are in top leadership position have been very successful. So, we in PDP have settled for a female running mate as a way of encouraging women to occupy sensitive positions of authority.”

Wike said the country’s First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, did not influence his party’s choice of governorship candidate, noting that she would, however, be happy with the party’s choice in the state.

“To be honest with you, the wife of the President is not aware of our decision. But I know she will be happy with it. She has been very supportive. She has given us moral support. She is a great women mobilizer. She has been mobilizing support for her husband. She prayed for me and gave me her blessing. By nominating a female running mate, we have achieved 35 percent affirmative policy. We have a good balancing in choosing a female running mate. We choose a Kalabari female running mate that would be made public very soon,” he said.

The governorship candidate said he was already talking with aggrieved members of his party, including governorship aspirants, to ensure they all buried their grievances for the good of the party.

- Source: Nigerian vanguard,  See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/