Wike: Nigerians will soon know the truth about Atiku

By our reporter| Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State on Saturday said he will soon break his silence on Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Wike finished behind Atiku at the PDP presidential primaries last month and many, including top party leaders, expected the former vice-president to pick the Rivers state governor as his running mate.

According to Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue, Wike was preferred as the vice-presidential candidate of the party.

But Atiku opted for Ifeanyi Okowa, the Governor of Delta state, a development that greatly disrupted the party’s cohesion as it prepares for the 2023 presidential election.

But explaining his decision in an interview on ARISE TV, on Friday, Atiku said he did not pick Wike as his running mate because he wanted someone he could work with “amicably”.

“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.

In apparent response to Atiku’s interview on Friday, Wike in a statement by Kelvin Ebiri, his spokesman, stated that it has become pertinent for him to speak and reveal to Nigerians all that has transpired in the PDP since the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party.

“On Atiku, I will speak soon, and Nigerians will know the actual truth of all that has transpired in the PDP in recent times,” he was quoted to have said in the statement.

The development comes amid concerns over Wike’s commitment to participating in the PDP campaign for the 2023 elections.

The governor of oil-rich Rivers State had gone under the radar as it relates to the PDP affairs since he lost the party’s presidential ticket to former Vice President Atiku.

In a bid to address the perceived grievances of the governor, the Board of Trustees (BOT) of the PDP set up a reconciliatory committee to meet with Wike of Rivers State over the fallout of the party’s presidential primary and crisis trailing the nomination of a running mate.