Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, yesterday accused the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar of disrespecting him by picking the state’s PDP presidential campaign nominees without his contribution.
Starnews reported that the governor made the claim while inaugurating the PDP campaign council and launching of the party’s governorship campaign office in Port Harcourt.
He added that Atiku selected ‘enemies’ of Rivers into his campaign council for the 2023 general elections. Wike stressed that the photos of Atiku and those of the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, have been missing from the state’s PDP campaign materials because they don’t want him to campaign for the party at the national level.
“Some people have asked me why they haven’t seen the presidential candidate’s picture and the party chairman’s. I said what are you talking about? The presidential candidate entered my state and picked members of the presidential council without a whole governor of a state having a contribution,” he said.
“So, they said they don’t need me to campaign for them, they don’t need Rivers people to campaign for them. Will you force yourself?”
But reacting to the claim, a PDP young stakeholders group has faulted the claim by Wike that Atiku excluded him in appointment of members of his campaign council from the state.
The group in a statement by its chairman of the Lagos State chapter, Dr Tai Oyekan, argued that Wike’s claim lacks merit.
The group likened Wike’s claims to that of a prodigal son who took his inheritance in annoyance.
It noted: “To put the records straight and which can be corroborated by every stakeholder in the party, the PDP and its presidential candidate consulted all governors and leaders in each state before nominating members into the presidential campaign council.
“Whereas all governors made nominations into the council, it was only in Rivers that the governor refused to forward his nominations into the council. It was therefore upon the refusal of the governor that the PDP and its presidential candidate went ahead by their own discretion to make nominations into the council.
“It is public knowledge that Wike has gone amok with the party since his failure to emerge as presidential candidate of the party and has stated, publicly also, that he will not cooperate with the party in our presidential campaign.
“Wike can be likened to a prodigal son who took his inheritance in annoyance. But we are hopeful that the party, as father to all, will have rectitude to receive and accept Wike back as a prodigal son whenever he returns in penitence.”
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