The governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, is allegedly responsible for forcing Peter Obi to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the Labour Party, according to Daniel Bwala, a spokesman for the Atiku Abubakar presidential campaign council (LP).
He argued that Obi had to leave the party because of Wike’s mischief and cunning.
Close to the PDP’s presidential primary, Obi defected to the LP, choosing that party’s presidential ticket for the 2023 elections.
In an interview with Arise TV on Wednesday, Bwala stated that prior to the party’s primary for president last year, it was widely accepted that the South-East should be given the presidency in the interest of equity.
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Additionally, he stated that Atiku Abubkar, who ultimately ran for president, had advocated for the position to be moved to either the South-East or the North-East, the two regions that had not yet produced a president.
Bwala claimed that Wike had plotted to have PDP National Chairman Uche Secondus removed in order to secure the nomination. He also claimed that Wike had pushed the committee established for the purpose to hold an open contest rather than zone the presidency.
He claimed that’s when Obi quit the party, fearing he wouldn’t win the nomination for president if the contest was made open.
Bwala berated Governor Wike, whom he referred to as “Michael Jackson” for thinking too highly of himself, and argued that despite opposition from Wike, the party’s presidential candidate would get the highest number of votes in Rivers State.
Wike, according to Bwala, does not have as much sway in the state as he thinks he does because the PDP enjoys strong support from the populace.
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He claimed that the G5 governors, who he also referred to as the “Jackson five,” had acknowledged their errors and were no longer speaking, with Wike being the only one who did so.
In addition, he said that Wike owed the PDP for everything he is and has accomplished, but he regretted that the governor was waning in power within his own state and would soon be consigned to the “dustbin of former governors.”