2023: Atiku can’t win an election without me– Wike

The Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has boasted that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not win the 2023 general elections without him being an active player and the involvement of four other absconding governors in the party.

Wike disclosed this during a live media chat in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Friday.

It would be recalled that the PDP has been enmeshed in a leadership crisis since the party’s primary where Nigeria’s former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, defeated Mr. Wike and other aspirants to emerge the party’s presidential candidate.

The conflict was further exacerbated after Wike was overlooked for the position of running mate to Atiku. The Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, was picked, instead.

Wike, feeling aggrieved, accused the party of betraying him and breaching its constitution.

The Rivers governor subsequently demanded the resignation of the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu – a criterion he said must be met before he would throw support for Atiku in next year’s poll.

Wike argues that both Mr. Ayu and the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku, come from northern Nigeria, hence Ayu must resign.

But the party leadership had deliberately refused to accede to Wike’s demands, fueling speculations that the Rivers governor could defect to another political party ahead of the elections.