APC's Tonye Cole explains why he didn't welcome Tinubu to Rivers

The Rivers State governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Tonye Cole, has given the reasons he did not welcome the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, during his visit to the state to inaugurate projects.

Cole accused Governor Wike of being negligent and refusal to inform him and the APC of Tinubu's visit along side other reasons he was absent from the commissioning.

On Wednesday, May 3, President-elect Tinubu paid a visit to Rivers on the invitation of Wike to commission the Rumuokwuta/Rumuola flyover in Port Harcourt.

During his speech, Tinubu described Wike as dependable and a man of integrity who did not serve his own interest but the interest of the nation.

Speaking in an interview on Arise Television on Thursday, Cole said;

"I will describe the visit from two sides. The first side of it is the President-elect.

“As a President-elect of Nigeria, he has the right to go anywhere. And the Rivers State Government invited him, and he has come, honoured that invitation, and has come to Rivers State as a President-elect; with that, we have no problem at all.

"Where the issue is, is that the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, ought also to be the governor of all Rivers people.

“And one of the things that he should have done if he is inviting the President-elect, who is the President-elect of all Nigerians, would have been to call us as APC in Rivers State to inform us that he is inviting the President-elect and would want us to be part of that programme.

"We never got any invitation, I was never invited personally, I was not invited in my private capacity as a candidate of the party, neither was our party, APC, in the State invited to any of those things;

“I believe that is where the difference between the President-elect acting in his capacity as President-elect for all Nigerians and Governor Wike acting in his capacity as a governor of just a particular Rivers people. That is where our disagreement stands,” he added.