Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has promised to disclose “the truth of all that has transpired in the PDP in recent times.”
He has also promised to spill the beans on Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the PDP for the 2023 general elections.
There has been no love lost between Atiku and Wike for years now. Both men have endured a frosty political relationship.
Wike campaigned vigorously against Atiku before the 2019 party primaries and repeatedly aimed potshots at Atiku before this year’s primary elections.
Wike also contested against Atiku for the 2023 PDP presidential ticket.
Atiku emerged standard-bearer of the PDP in 2019 and 2023, much to Wike’s chagrin.
When it came to handpicking a running mate after winning the presidential primary election for the 2023 vote, Atiku settled for Delta Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, even though a PDP committee had voted for, and recommended Wike as his running mate.
Asked during an appearance on AriseTV about why he didn’t pick Wike as running mate, Atiku said: “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.
“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.”
In a statement issued on his behalf by his media aide Kelvin Ebiri, Wike said; “On Atiku, I will speak soon and Nigerians will know the actual truth of all that has transpired in the PDP in recent times.”
In a tweet, Wike added that; “I will speak soon and Nigerians will know the truth.”
There had been widespread reports that Wike has all but concluded plans to dump the PDP for the governing APC. He has neither confirmed nor refuted those reports.