Wike does not possess quality of a president — Atiku

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said he never rejected the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike as his running mate but he only chose an individual that possesses the qualities of a “President-in-waiting”.

Atiku stated this in an interview with Arise TV on Friday morning while reacting to the controversies surrounding the choice of his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta State, and why he did not choose Wike.

Clarifying his decision to choose Okowa, Atiku said; “In arriving at the decision, I held wide consultations with various stakeholders in our party including our governors, the national working committee, board of trustees, and other leaders to seek their input and their wisdom.

“In these consultations, I made clear that my running mate would have the potential to succeed me at a moment’s notice, that is, a president-in-waiting.

“In other words, the person must have the qualities to be President. The person must have an appreciation of the deep rot which our country has been put into by the rudderless All Progressives Congress (APC) government; understands the great suffering that most of our people are going through and the urgency of relieving them of that suffering; understands the critical importance of economic growth and development to provide our young people with jobs, hope, and a pathway to wealth.

“Meanwhile, the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, on 29 June 2022, during an interview on Arise TV, said Wike, and others who backed the Rivers State governor for the PDP vice-presidential ticket slot deserved a detailed explanation from the party’s presidential candidate on his choice of running mate.

This was as he also said he had resorted to fasting and prayers to seek God’s direction after the emergence of Okowa as the running mate to Atiku ahead of Wike. Ortom said it was surprising that Atiku could jettison the recommendation of 14 out of 17 members of the committee that recommended Wike as his running mate.

Governor Ortom said, “I am waiting for him (Atiku) because there are more things he is expected to do. I expected him to reach out to Wike who came second and he denied him the popular view of PDP members. 14 out of 17 members say that Wike should be the VP but in his wisdom, he chose Governor Okowa. Governor Okowa is a nice man and my friend and I have no problem with him. But if we are in a democratic era, and 14 people out of 17 said that it should be Wike, and he (Atiku), in his wisdom, gave it to Okowa, I expect more explanation, I expect him to talk to Wike first, I expect him to even reach out to some of us so that together we can work as a party.

“But the bottom line for me is that I have gone into hibernation and I am praying and at the end, whatever God directs me to, I can assure you that I will do it”.

Reacting to the comments made by Ortom, Atiku said; “I didn’t reject Wike, I picked who can deliver. Wike is brilliant and tenacious. Going by history, I picked an Igbo as running mate in 2007, in 2019. I still picked an Igbo as running mate for 2023.

“The committee was chaired by the governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom and they presented the three nominees. They recommended three people, so I picked one. People should be fair to me and state the facts.”

Labour Party Cannot Perform Miracle With Peter Obi

On the threat posed by the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi in the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku the presence of his erstwhile running mate, cannot boost the chances of the party, because it has no structure.

He said, “I really don’t expect the Labour Party to take as many votes from the PDP as people are suggesting. We could have seen it in the last election in Osun State. What was the performance of the Labour Party?

“This is a party that doesn’t have a governor, doesn’t have members of the national assembly, doesn’t have members of the state Houses of Assembly. And politics in this country depends on structures you have at those various levels; the local level, the state level and the national level.

“It is very difficult for a miracle to happen, simply because Peter Obi is in the Labour Party.”