Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has scolded the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
This is as Atiku sends a strong reply to Wike for claiming that his former boss, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had a problem with him (Atiku) and therefore failed to endorse his presidential bid, Bellnewsonline.com confirmed.
Speaking through Phrank Shaibu, his special assistant on public communication for the 2023 general elections, Atiku described Wike’s comment on Obasanjo’s endorsement of Peter Obi as a nonsensical gaffe, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari also failed to endorse his “loyal” deputy, Yemi Osinbajo for president during the All Progressives Congress presidential primary.
Governor Wike had mocked Atiku for being sidelined by his former boss, Obasanjo, to endorse the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
Reacting to Governor Wike’s reported mockery, Shaibu described the PDP G-5 governors frontier as “A short-tempered man acts foolishly.”
According to him in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, Shaibu said,
“This perhaps explains why a governor who was once a shining light in his party has thrown caution to the wind and has become a laughing stock.”
Meanwhile, Governor Wike, has clarified that the intent of his comment on the endorsement of Peter Obi, by former President Obasanjo, instead of his former deputy and current PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, stemmed from his concern for the opposition party.
Governor Wike gave the explanation on Tuesday when he spoke at the Mgbuodohia Community Primary School premises, venue of the flag-off of the construction of Mgbuodohia Road in Rumuolumeni Town of Obio/Akpor LGA of the State
The governor observed that Obasanjo had served as President on the platform of the PDP with Atiku Abubakar as his vice president for eight years, hence, ideally, he should have been in a better position to solicit for support from Nigerians on Atiku’s behalf with confidence.
Wike noted that if such was not done by way of endorsement, then something was fundamentally wrong that should elicit concern by members of PDP.
He insisted that for Obasanjo to have gone ahead to endorse Obi instead of his former deputy, it means something must be fundamentally wrong.
The governor wondered that instead of people in the party to look at the issues critically, and ponder on what could be done with the seeming wrong, they were rather abusing him.
Governor Wike insisted that it is only those who love the PDP that would be bent on ensuring that nothing untoward happened to it.
He noted that those who abusing him were jobbers and political flirts, who jump from one party to another every other day, with one of them now a spokesman of the party.