Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, last Wednesday evening, visited Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate for the 2023 general election, Atiku Abubakar, in Abuja.
Wike’s visit took place amidst search by Atiku and the opposition party for an acceptable Southern running mate for the coveted ticket.
The PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Walid Jibrin, had last Monday said, “The BoT will assist the party, and surely, the Waziri Adamawa (Atiku) himself to come out with a very acceptable vice president from Southern Nigeria.”
Atiku, who was also PDP presidential candidate in 2019, ran with former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi, who left the PDP to become the presidential flag bearer of the Labour Party in 2023.
It was learnt that Wike’s visit was designed to reciprocate Atiku’s visit which the former vice president paid to the Rivers State governor’s Abuja residence, last Monday.
Unlike Monday’s meeting which took place few hours after the PDP presidential primary ended at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja, where Wike’s outstanding performance took millions of PDP members and political watchers by storm,amid bitter feelings of loss, Wednesday’s meeting ended on a cordial note as the governor and the ex-VP beamed with smiles in a photo pose after the closed-door session.
The details of the meeting are yet to be made public, but insiders said both players had fruitful discussions.
Atiku shared photos of the meeting on his verified social media pages.
He said, “It was a pleasure to receive Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike in the company of notable leaders and officials of our great party, the PDP, at my residence today. I am proud of the promises that this spirit of camaraderie holds for our party as a united front that guarantees victory in the next election to rescue the country.”
Earlier last Wednesday, Atiku solicited the support of his rivals in the opposition party to defeat the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 election.
Atiku, after he received the party’s Certificate of Return at the PDP National Secretariat at the Wadata Plaza in Abuja, said his main opponent was the APC and not his co-aspirants in Sunday’s presidential primary.
He urged his contenders to join forces with him to dislodge the APC government led by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
During the PDP presidential primary held at the Moshood Abiola Stadium on Saturday, Atiku polled 371 votes to defeat Wike, who got 237 votes; a former President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, 70 votes; the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Emmanuel Udom, 38 votes; the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, 20 votes; a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, 14 votes and an ex-President of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Sam Ohuabunwa, one vote.
The delegates were said to be surprised when the Sokoto State Governor, Hon Aminu Tambuwal, who was one of the front runners for the presidential ticket, stepped down and directed his supporters to vote for Atiku as a result of what sources said was due to the intervention of the northern elders, who were pushing for a northern consensus aspirant.
Wike had berated Tambuwal for stepping down for Atiku at the last-minute and had alleged that some PDP governors sabotaged him.