There are indications that the former Vice President and aspirant for the office of the President in the 2023 general election on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, may have picked Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, as his running mate in place of Peter Obi.
As former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar is reportedly considering dropping former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi in favour of another person as his running mate for the 2023 presidency.
According to reports, Atiku wants to choose Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike as his running mate should he clinch the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket for the 2023 presidency.
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Atiku and Obi had contested together in 2019 as the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of the PDP.
Obi, a former Anambra State governor, and economist was Atiku’s running mate in the 2019 general election. A former banker and technocrat, Obi brought charisma to the 2019 electioneering campaigns with his brilliant knowledge of economic management.
But according to sources report, apart from his charisma and intellectual capacity which made him popular with the people, Obi didn’t make too much financial contributions to the ticket.
The source claimed it is the belief in the Atiku camp that Wike can also attract voters from the southeast and bring meaningful financial contributions to political campaigns as well.
“Prior to the 2019 election, Governor Peter Obi didn’t have a strong political structure outside the South East. People just loved him because of his vast knowledge of the economy, winning an election goes beyond all that.
“For instance, since he left office and joined PDP he has not been able to have his nominees win the governorship election in the state. Although he is brilliant and can speak good grammar, interprets the economy very well, winning an election is much more than that. How much did he bring to the table?
“To successfully run an election in this country you need money, connection, strong and vast political structure, etc, and these you find in abundance in Nyesom Wike. He is a good material any day and that’s not the kind of man you leave behind, especially if you want to win election in Nigeria,” the source claimed.
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There is also the thinking that rather than lose out completely in 2023, a vice-presidential slot would be better for the Igbos. Those who hold this view allude to Atiku’s promise to rule Nigeria for only one term of four years if elected president in 2023 and facilitate the election of an Igboman as president.
Hotmedia.ng however couldn’t get a reaction from those mentioned as efforts to reach them were not successful.
1 comment
Stupid submission , Atiku is losing this time around…..so Wike is now an Igbo man abi?.Atiku went far in 2019 because of Peter Obi , Nigeria need the best economically and I don’t think is gonna give us that !!..More over Wike is not an Igbo man , so Atiku should take us for a ride !!..We rather vote for APC to continue that visionless government than vote Atiku if he refuses to pick a real Igbo man as his vice !!!…more over this is the turn of the South , why should PDP give her ticket to Atiku , is really quit unfortunate is such happens!!..If APC bring a southern candidate , rest assured that SE/SS will vote for that candidate!!