Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has endorsed his Lagos State counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for a second term in office.

Wike, a chieftain of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), rated Sanwo-Olu high in performance, noting that the governor had raised the standard of governance with quality of projects being delivered across Lagos State.

He said this at the 22nd National Women’s Conference organised by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Officials (COWLSO) on Tuesday.

Wike, who was accompanied to the event held at Eko Hotels in the Victoria Island area of Lagos by a former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, said any political party contesting against the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos would be wasting time, adding that Sanwo-Olu’s performance would outshine anyone campaigning against him.

The Rivers State Governor said he had no regrets for openly endorsing Sanwo-Olu, stressing that his endorsement of his Lagos colleague was borne out of his personal conviction about good governance.

Governor Wike said: “If Sanwo-Olu is not doing well, even if he belongs to my party, I will not come here. If you belong to my party and you are not doing well in governance, you won’t see me.

“If you don’t belong to my party and you are doing well, you will see me. Good governance is what I stand for. I will not regret to say that I am in support of you (Sanwo-Olu) for second term. Others should not waste their time.

“Look at the kind of project coming from this women’s group. Why would any reasonable person not support the government that is encouraging this. Let’s also look at the kind of physical infrastructure being delivered in Lagos. This confirms Lagos as a State of excellence.

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“There are some people who will come here; instead of them to continue to make Lagos improve, they will bring Lagos down. For me, I’m satisfied with what Sanwo-Olu has done and it doesn’t matter the party he belongs.”

Sanwo-Olu, while responding to Wike’s endorsement, described it as another example of “politics without bitterness”.

He said Lagos and Rivers states had learnt from each other in terms of projects and development, adding that both states would continue to cooperate on shared interest.

The governor said: “There is no better person that is fit as a guest speaker at the conference other than the hardworking Governor Wike of Rivers State. We brought him here to share in his experience and also for him to see what we are doing in Lagos.

“We are encouraging collaboration without bitterness and without talking about our parties or political differences. If you are doing well, it doesn’t matter where you belong. We should encourage peer review across parties.

“Governor Wike had invited me to Rivers for projects commissioning in the past. We have challenged ourselves in a positive way; this is good for the growth of our politics and the nation,” Sanwo-Olu stated.

The Star