Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President, has explained why Nyesom Wike, the ex-Governor of Rivers State, was not chosen as his running mate in 2023, SAVANNAH NEWSNOW REPORTS.
Wike lost the PDP presidential ticket to Atiku for the 2023 election, and contrary to expectations, he was not chosen as Atiku’s running mate; instead, Ifeanyi Okowa, the former governor of Delta State, was selected.
Many party stakeholders believe that the decision led to the current face-off between Atiku and Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
In an interview for the television show Untold Stories, with Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie, scheduled to air today, Wednesday, Atiku recounted how party leaders accused him of not consulting widely before choosing Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, as his running mate in 2019.
“They said I did not consult with the party enough. So in 2023, I threw the whole thing to the party. I said, ‘Okay, set up a committee and recommend three people for me to pick as a running mate”, he said.
The former VP noted that the committee submitted three names with Ifeanyi Okowa as the first choice, Wike as the second, and former Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel as the third.
“So I picked number one,” he said, adding that his decision not to pick Wike was simply because he was the second choice on the list.
However, Atiku, who had run for the presidency a record six times, said he had no regrets about not picking Wike.
