Lamido dismisses Wike’s ‘grievance’, says nobody offended him
Lamido says Wike does not have a political monopoly in Rivers simply because he’s the state governor.
Former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido has discounted the issues that led to the unending rift between the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.
Wike, who lost the party’s presidential primary election to Atiku three months ago appears to be working against the party as he distances himself from the PDP activities ahead of the 2023 election and hobnobs with chieftains of other political parties.
Wike’s Romance with APC: In recent times, the Rivers Governor has openly fraternised with members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi.
Pulse had earlier reported that Wike had a meeting with Tinubu in London, where issues revolving around Tinubu’s presidential aspirations were extensively discussed.
The Bone of Contention: Many political analysts believe Wike, who came second in the PDP presidential primary election feels aggrieved because of what played out during the exercise and Atiku’s resolve to pick Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate against the recommendations of the party leaders who wanted him to pick Wike.
Wike and his supporters in the PDP have also called for the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, arguing that the party’s leadership is too pro-North.
But Lamido believes Wike was not offended by any member of the party.
Lamido’s Views: Speaking during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, on Tuesday, August 23, 2022, the former governor said Wike’s defeat in the election should not be a big deal.
He said Wike himself confirmed that the election was credible and transparent.
“People contest for counsellorship; some win, some lose. The same with chairmanship and governorship. So what is the big deal about Wike? To me who offended Wike? Who offended him? There is no issue here. There was convention of the party in Abuja where Wike by his own testimony said it was credible; it was transparent. So what is the big deal here? Who offended who there? I want to know first because why is Wike the issue here?
“The convention produced a candidate who won the primary. If there is any offence it was the convention which offended Wike not Atiku, nor the party chairman,” Lamido said.
The governor also said Wike does not have a political monopoly in Rivers because he’s the state governor.
“Wike is an individual. I don’t think because he is the governor he has the monopoly in Rivers. Rivers people are in PDP in their own right”, he said.
He added that the people of the state have been supporting the PDP since 1999, adding that Wike could not be their emperor simply because he is the governor of the state.
