Governor Wike (left) and Atiku Abubakar, PDP presidential candidate
By NewsBits
The presidential campaign council of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has lambasted the vociferous governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, for referring to the presidential candidate of the party, and former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for eight years Atiku Abubakar as a “product.”
Wike tagged Atiku bad product that is not good enough his for his former principal, President Olusegun Obasanjo to recommend to anybody.
Recall that Atiku served as Obasanjo’s deputy from 1999-2007. However, Obasanjo in his New Year’s message which was written in the form of a letter addressed to Nigerians, endorsed the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Obasanjo and urged the electorate to vote for him in the February 25 presidential poll.
In the treatise entitled ‘My appeal to all Nigerians particularly young Nigerians’ Obasanjo said the LP presidential candidate has the edge over the other contestants in terms of “character, antecedent, their understanding, knowledge, discipline and vitality that they can bring to bear, and the great efforts required to stay focused on the job particularly looking at where the country is today and with the experience on the job.”
Besides, he said Obi has “a young and able running mate with clean track record of achievement both in public and private life.”
“The vigour, energy, agility, dynamism, and outreach that the job of leadership of Nigeria requires at the very top may not be provided as a septuagenarian or older. I know that from personal experience.”
Reacting to the endorsement, Wike said Obasanjo’s action clearly makes a telling statement about the character of Atiku whom he called a “bad product.”
The governor who spoke yesterday at the flag-off of the Akpabu-Odido Road project in the Emohua local government area of the state said a bad product is always difficult to sell, otherwise, Obasanjo would have endorsed Atiku.
Wike who urged the PDP standard bearer to leave him out of party’s crisis said: “If you are bad product, you are a bad product, if you are a good product, you are a good product.
“You worked under somebody, the person has recommended to Nigerians another person, is it me?
“I worked with somebody for eight years and we are using it as a campaign that when we were in office we did well, then my boss is recommending another person to be there, something is fundamentally wrong.
“I was praying that Obasanjo should not say anything; when I saw the letter last night I was touched. If your principal does not recommend you, then there’s something fundamentally wrong.”
In its response, the party’s presidential campaign council described Wike as a mole in the PDP. It said the governor was working for the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Bola Tinubu as seen in the latest alliance between the two politicians.
“…He is a mole working for the APC candidate. He is clearly executing a part of their agreement to remain in PDP and de-market the party and her presidential candidate from within. What he is doing now is the deal reached In London with Tinubu. He thinks he can fool Nigerians.
“Unfortunately, he is not man enough to come out boldly to tell the world he is working for Tinubu. Their unholy union is based on treachery, as they are both treacherous. Atiku will not be distracted by Wike’s constant vituperations and childish tantrums. He needs to grow up and stop trying to destroy the party he once claimed to love.”
The PCC further stated that Wike who is a “so-called good product” has never been found worthy of any endorsement by his principals, not even the former governor of the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, whom he (Wike served as chief of staff.
“Wike himself, a so-called good product, has never been found worthy of any position by any of his predecessors.
“Governor Amaechi, whom he served as chief of staff never supported his governorship ambition for two principal reasons. First, he said at a town hall meeting in Port Harcourt in 2015 that ‘Nyesom Wike loves and worships money; he can betray anyone for money – nothing more, nothing less’ and, secondly, that two Ikwerre sons should not rule the state consecutively to the exclusion of other sections of the state. But the man who preaches fairness today wanted to be governor regardless of whether it was fair to others or not.”
“Former Governor Rotimi Amaechi even stated at the convention of the apex Ikwerre body, Ogbako Ikwerre, in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State on December 31, 2013, that President Jonathan initially rejected Wike when he recommended him for ministerial appointment.
“Amaechi specifically stated, ‘He (Jonathan) rejected Wike, and I begged President Jonathan several times and consistently because I wanted Wike to be appointed a minister. But today, Nyesom Wike has betrayed me for selfish reasons”’ the party said.
Besides, the PCC said Wike is not a presidential material as attested to by his kinsmen. “Even former chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, and former Governor Celestine Omehia do not see Wike as presidential material.
“Indeed, if notable politicians and even predecessors of Wike from his home state do not see him worthy enough to lead Nigeria, he ought to sit down and reflect on his life rather than continue to taunt Atiku Abubakar who Obasanjo found worthy to be president in 2019, despite the many hurtful things he had said against Atiku in the past.
“And if Obasanjo decides not to support Atiku this time around, it is all well and good. Waziri is a man who does not bear grudges or wish people evil like Wike,” the party said.
PDP further stated that it is not unusual for a president not to endorse his deputy arguing that former President Barack Obama of the United States did not endorse his then vice president, Joe Biden in 2016. It noted that when the latter wanted to vie for the Democratic Party ticket, Obama endorsed Hillary Clinton.
“But in 2020, he endorsed Biden. Time and circumstances do change. Ironically, Wike cleverly ignored more salient issues in Obasanjo’s letter, which talks about how unfit the candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, is for the presidency,” it added.
