PDP presidential primary fallout : Okowa, Ortom appeal to Wike
.Wike says Atiku told many lies in Arise TV interview
The vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, has appealed to his Rivers State counterpart, Governor Nyesom Wike on the need for genuine reconciliation on thorny issues rocking the party.
Dr Okowa disclosed this while speaking to journalists after a closed door meeting with Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue state at the Benue State Government lodge in Asokoro, Abuja.
He noted that the delay in meeting with Governor Wike was due to his trip abroad and now that his is back, the party and its presidential candidate will do all to reconcile issues with him.
On his part, Ortom said his advice on the need to appease the Rivers State Governor is the best way to go.
He said he is fully behind moves to reconcile with Wike for the overall interest of the party as all hands must be on deck ahead of the 2023 general elections.
In the meanwhile Wike,said that Atiku Abubakar, lied in a recent interview he granted Arise Television.
In the interview, Atiku said he did not pick Wike as his running mate because he wanted someone he could work with “amicably”.
“Governor Wike was not rejected. Nobody was rejected in the party. But you must understand that it’s the prerogative of the candidate to pick his running mate — a running mate he believes he can work with amicably, and then also deliver the policies of the party, and also try to unify the country,” the PDP candidate said.
“Governor Wike is a brilliant politician. He’s courageous, tenacious. I believe he has a future in the political evolution of this country. It’s not a question of rejection.
“Certainly, not. I think it’s too harsh a word to say that we rejected governor Wike.”
Afterwards, Wike said he would speak about Atiku soon, and that Nigerians need to know the truth about the party.
On Friday, speaking at the international airport in Port Harcourt, Rivers capital, Wike said the PDP presidential candidate lied about how he picked Ifeanyi Okowa, Delta governor, as his running mate.
“He [Atiku] appeared before Arise Television, see the statements he made. So many lies were told,” the Rivers governor said.
It is learned that he will be meeting with his team at the weekend to decide “on the way forward”.
