Wike drove Obi out of the PDP-Ex-VP's assistance, not Atiku

The spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Paul Ibe, has charged Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, with prioritizing his own interests over the party’s overall objectives.

“Well, Wike has charted different paths to serve his interest because I don’t understand what interest, is it the PDP interest? It cannot be. It is his interest all well and good for him,” Ibe stated in Seun Okinbaloye’s Mic On podcast released on Saturday.

Ibe’s remarks follow the political spat between Wike and Atiku, which was purported to have played a role in Peter Obi’s decision to leave the party and later become the leader of the Labour Party.

Regarding the circumstances of Obi’s exit, Ibe declared that Atiku was not the one who planned the breakup.

“Atiku Abubakar didn’t in any way force Obi’s exit from the party. It’s not about relationships (Atiku managing the relationship between himself and Obi), there were factors,” he explained.

However, Ibe pointed fingers at Wike, accusing him of playing a pivotal role in Obi’s departure due to his ambition to secure the presidency for the southern region.

“Wike was also instrumental to Obi’s exit because Wike had promoted his zone of the presidency to the south. Atiku had said that he was prepared to get himself off the ticket if the party zones to the ticket to the southeast,” Ibe revealed.

Ibe claims that Wike purposefully thwarted attempts to zone the ticket to the South East out of concern that it would lessen his chances of winning the nomination.

“Wike frustrated that effort because he believed that if it was zoned to the South and not the South East, he would have been in the best position to get the ticket. So he was instrumental in the exit of Obi out of the party,” Ibe asserted.

Ibe acknowledged the plausibility of the Atiku-Obi ticket when he looked back on the 2019 presidential election, speculating that the Labor Party’s performance in the most recent polls may have drawn votes away from the PDP.

“No doubt that the Atiku-Obi ticket of 2019 was a viable ticket and remained viable (if it happened in the 2023 elections) because the Labor Party took away some of the votes of the PDP,” he stated.

Ibe also exhorted Atiku and all other interested parties to look into what went wrong.

He said, “I believe this is time to reflect and look at what went wrong, and I want to believe that all the actors, including His Excellency Atiku, have that reflection, perhaps that is why he (Atiku) keeps urging for a coalition of the opposition because if they stand together, that allows them to be able to oust the ruling party,” he said.

The party remained divided as a result of the breach between Atiku and Wike. Both the former governor of Rivers State and the vice president were operating against their own interests and clinging to their PDP organizations.