Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta says his Rivers State counterpart, Nyesom Wike, would take his emergence as PDP vice presidential candidate in stride.

Messrs Okowa and Wike were in the race to secure the slot to be the running mate to PDP presidential flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar.

Mr Okowa was however announced as the party’s choice on Thursday.

“I want to assure you that Wike is a very good man and his interest for this country and party to be able to rise up to the challenge at the moment is strong,” Mr Okowa said shortly after his unveiling at the PDP headquarters in Abuja. “I do not feel he is going to be disappointed.”

He described Mr Wike as a “very strong party man” who he believes is “also a good democrat and he understands that when several persons are in the race for a particular position, only one person will be at the front in time.”

On the chances of his party in the 2023 elections, the Delta governor says it is time for the PDP to return to power at the centre, after being in the opposition for many years.

“There is a huge challenge in our nation and PDP has said that it wanted to rescue this country and rebuild it,” he noted.

“To be able to do that, you need a man who has the right experience and obviously I have been picked today as vice-presidential candidate of the PDP to rescue Nigeria and to rebuild it.

“I am truly very excited that I have been asked to join that ticket to be able to work with him as his vice-presidential candidate,” Okowa said.

He commended the PDP presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the party leaders for finding him worthy of being its 2023 presidential running mate.

“Mr President in waiting, I must truly thank you for finding me worthy to be on this ticket. I do know that it was a very tough decision, even as you have spoken this afternoon.

“But I thank God that among my very qualified colleagues, even those more qualified than me, that I found favour and I’m here today as the vice presidential candidate of the party.

“While thanking you, I do understand that it’s a great work that is ahead of us. By the special grace of God, we will work hard to ensure victory for the party,” Mr Okowa said.

He added: “The building back process is going to be collective and we are trusting that all of our team members will want to be part of that story at the end of the day.”

Mr Okowa assured Nigerians that the party was in the process of ensuring that the nation was returned back to its glorious days.

“We are prepared for governance, we are prepared for inclusion and we are prepared to bring Nigeria together.

“We are prepared to run a governance that is based on integrity and experience,” he said.

(NAN)