A group, Cross River Renaissance Movement, has endorsed the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, to contest for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party come 2023.

The group said their support was based on the fact that Wike fights for the poor and the weak.

The pressure group which draws its membership from the Cross River State House of Assembly, immediate past commissioners, said this in a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Calabar, on Tuesday.

A former River State Commissioner for Water Resources, Gabe Odu-Oji, who read the communique said, “Against the background of the clarion call and passionate expectation of Nigerians for good and enduring leadership; having been dissatisfied with the rudderless leadership provided by the APC in the last six years, resolved amongst other issues, to call on leadership of the PDP to present a man with character and content as flag-bearer for the party’s presidential ticket in 2023 in order to further strengthen the faith of the people in the Nigerian polity.

“The group notes in particular, the sterling leadership qualities and developmental strides of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and after a careful prognosis of the political situation in the country, characterised by high-level insecurity across board, rising banditry, the proliferation of secessionist groups currently threatening the very fabric of our national unity, hereby calls on His Excellency, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, to declare for the 2023 presidential election in order to salvage Nigeria as clearly demonstrated in his outing as Governor of Rivers State.”

The group described Wike as “a nationalist who truly believes in the unity and indissolubility of Nigeria and has clearly demonstrated this in his uncompromising stance against separatist agitations and his liberal posture as demonstrated during the Sokoto inferno.”

The Cross River PDP Renaissance Movement further stated that the ingenuity in social engineering exhibited by the governor in handling the security situation in the Niger-Delta, has brought about peace in the region.

The group said it considered this trait as “a major panacea required in resolving the current security challenges plaguing the country.”