2023: Peace talks between Atiku, Wike suffer setback
There were indications on Monday that the reconciliation talks between Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, had suffered a major setback as Wike again threatened to disappoint those underestimating his state.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Orochiri-Worukwo (Waterlines junction) Flyover, the Rivers governor explained that the dynamics of contemporary politics had made it unwise to just gift votes away without the assurance of derivable benefit for the people.
The governor, in a veiled reference to Atiku and the PDP national leadership, said nobody could take Rivers’ votes for granted.
A former lawmaker, Senator Lee Maeba, berated the governor for portraying himself as a superhuman being.
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Last week, the governor sacked the Governing Council of the Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola in Port Harcourt led by Maeba.
Things have not been rosy between Wike and Atiku following the former Vice-President’s decision to nominate Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate.
Wike and his associates were reported to have demanded the resignation of the National Chairman of the PDP, Iyorchia Ayu, as a condition for him to work for Atiku. However, some leaders in the party dismissed Wike’s demand.
The Rivers governor, who was expected to have been picked as the vice-presidential candidate of the party, has since been hobnobbing with some governors of the All Progressives Congress.
On Monday, the governor invited his Lagos State counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; to inaugurate some projects in the state.
In a veiled attack on the national leadership of the PDP, the Rivers State governor said no one should expect to get the votes of Rivers State without at least giving something in return.
Apart from his veiled attacks on Atiku and the PDP, the governor was said to have gone after politicians in the state that were close to the PDP presidential candidate.
Some of them were said to have visited Atiku without Wike’s permission.
He pointed to how difficult it would be for any conspirators to upset the voting pattern of Rivers State.
Wike reiterated that those who looted the treasury of the state would not be supported to become governor of Rivers State.
2023: Peace talks between Atiku, Wike suffer setback