Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, says the present National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party cannot lead the party to victory in the 2023 general elections, hence the quest for its replacement.

He maintained that the internal rumbling that was recently witnessed in the party shows the failure of the NWC – led by Prince Uche Secondus – to effectively carry out its responsibility as an opposition political party.

Wike who spoke on national television in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, however, said the PDP remains the only credible alternative party that Nigerians were expecting to take over power in 2023, given the woeful performance of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.

The governor’s remarks were relayed by his media aide, Kelvin Ebiri in a statement titled ‘PDP needs new, robust, determined NWC to win 2023 general elections -Gov Wike and made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt.

The statement reads, “If you go to the public and ask Nigerians if PDP is ready to take over power in 2023, if you hold a referendum, you will know that Nigerians are even waiting for PDP.

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“But the fear of Nigerians is whether PDP is ready to take over power. So, people are concerned about it. Obviously, it is ripe for PDP to take over, but you must be prepared to take over.

“And we said with what we have now, it will be difficult to take over power in 2023 if there are no amendments. Leadership was the problem. The point is this, the current NWC, as it is today, cannot lead the party to victory.

“Nobody has said they have not done well, one way or the other. But, we are talking about the challenges ahead. That is why we are pushing for the party to have other people to lead the party and to give it a different strength altogether. If you know APC, you know that you need a robust, determined leadership of the party (PDP) to make sure you match them word by word, action by action.”

Wike said anyone who loves the PDP and means well for the party will adhere to the resolutions reached after the intervention of the governors, Board of Trustees and elders to douse the brewing crisis in the party.

The governor dismissed the insinuation that he was nurturing a presidential ambition, hence his opposition to the current NWC, saying his primary preoccupation is to see how the PDP could be better positioned to win the 2023 general elections.