By Ademola Adeleye
It is unclear how Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike would take this, but Atiku Abubakar presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has given reasons the governor missed out on the vice president slot:
“I cannot work with Wike.”
Atiku who spoke in a televised interview on Arise TV said he did not reject Wike, but chose someone he can work with amicable.
The PDP candidate had picked Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election, despite the party’s national working committee (NWC) endorsing Wike for the role.
Atiku said he opted for Okowa instead of Wike because he wanted someone that could “deliver the policies of the party, and also try to unify the country.”
“Governor Wike was not rejected. Nobody was rejected in the party. But you must understand that it’s the prerogative of the candidate to pick his running mate — a running mate he believes he can work with amicably, and then also deliver the policies of the party, and also try to unify the country,” Atiku said.
“Governor Wike is a brilliant politician. He’s courageous, tenacious. I believe he has a future in the political evolution of this country. It’s not a question of rejection. Certainly, not. I think it’s too harsh a word to say that we rejected governor Wike. Certainly not.”
