Tough talking Rivers state Governor, Nyesom Wike may have bided final bye to Atiku Abubakar of People Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of the 2023 presidential election, even as he added that he has told Rivers people who to vote for on February 25.
Wike who spoke at a media parley in Port Harcourt on Thursday said reconciling the G5 Governors of PDP with Atiku would be like the biblical cattle passing throw the eyes of the needle.
It would be noted that a group of five governors — known as G5 — led by Wike is against the presidential bid of Atiku, arguing that his election as presidential candidate goes against the agreement to zone the presidency to the south.
Wike and his allies— including Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Samuel Ortom of Benue, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu — have excluded themselves from the party’s presidential campaign over calls for Iyorchia Ayu to step down as the national chairperson.
In the past few months, several attempts at reconciliation have failed to yield desired results by some party stakeholders.
Speaking at the media chat, Wike said the timeframe for resolving the grievance of the G5 is “over” and he is “not ready to sit down with anybody again”.
“No, we can’t do that; it’s over! We have said it and there is nothing anybody can do about it now,” the number one citizen of the ‘Treasure Base of the Nation,’ Wike stated.
“They believe they can win the election. I am not ready to sit down with anybody again,” He added.
Wike said he has informed the residents of Rivers of his preferred presidential candidate and that the people are ready to vote for the individual. The governor however failed to mention the name of the candidate.
It would be recalled that the pro Atiku members of Rivers State PDP had earlier accused Governor Wike of charging all his Local Government chairmen, Special Assistants and other aides to work for the victory of the APC presidential candidate in the areas as against Atiku of the PDP
The Rivers Governor also hosted the APC presidential candidate and his running mate, as long as some APC Governors and stakeholders at the Rivers State Government House on Wednesday, few hours after the party’s presidential campaign rally in Port Harcourt
