Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike on Monday said the endorsement of the Labour Party’s Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the forthcoming election speaks volumes about the 2023 race especially of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.
Governor Wike, who spoke at a road project’s flag-off in Emouha Local Government Area of Rivers State, also siad that a bad product is always difficult to sell, arguing that in normal circumstances, the former President ought to have recommended Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to Nigerians having worked with him, instead Obasanjo choose to endorse another presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi.
Wike insisted that if ex-President Obasanjo had refused to recommend Alhaji Atiku, then something must be fundamentally wrong, stating that Alhaji Atiku should be more concerned about that loss of confidence from his former boss, and his coming election.
The Governor further took a swipe against those accusing him and Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State of frustrating the micro-zoning of the Presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the South-East.
Governor Wike said he had always believed in and supported concerted efforts towards ensuring that the Presidency was zoned to the south.
According to him: “I was one of those who led the campaign that the party’s chairmanship should go to the North because I believed the presidency should go to the South. I attended meetings of Southern Governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and other parties from Delta to Lagos to Enugu States, where we agreed that presidency should come to the South.”
Wike noted that while Southern cross-party consultations were going on, there were people in the PDP who were bent on frustrating the eventual zoning of the party’s Presidential ticket to the South. Such people, he maintained, cannot now turn around to cast the blame on him and Governor Ortom to hide their scheme thinking they could deceive Nigerians.
He said: “I woke up this morning and read where they said, how Wike and Ortom frustrated PDP’s micro-zoning of the Presidential ticket to South East. That was what the PDP Presidential candidate, Atiku said.
“I keep on saying, they will be contradicting themselves, telling lies up and down, thinking that Nigerians don’t know. How can they say that I influenced Ortom, told him to allow and throw the ticket open?
“Nigerians know those who are opposed to the zoning of the party’s chairmanship first. And when the zoning committee was set up, this time, Atiku had gone to buy form to frustrate the recommendation of the zoning committee. So that when they have bought form, they could say, oh, there is no need for zoning, will you tell people to withdraw?”
Governor Wike said it is rather noteworthy that their gimmick is now hunting them because they were unfair to Nigerians.
“Yes, you don’t like Ortom, no problem. I know my own, you don’t like me, no problems. But I, my State gave you the highest support in 2019 both with logistics and by votes. You can’t deceive every Nigerian again. What I have stood for are equity, fairness and justice.
“So, saying that I and Ortom frustrated PDP micro-zoning to South East is neither here nor there. They know that they don’t want the Presidency to come to the South.”