Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has denied working against the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the state.
Speaking during a media chat in Port Harcourt, he said in less than a year, Obi galvanised young voters in such a manner some had described as unprecedented and finished the race with 6,101,533 votes.
Nigerian youths have accused Wike of betraying the former Anambra State governor, following Obi’s loss to Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
During the interview, he described the LP’s candidate as being ungrateful.
He (Wike) recalled how he picked him (Obi) to be the running mate to Atiku in the 2019 general elections, even against the wish of some prominent PDP chieftains.
Wike stated: “I take exception to Peter Obi’s comments that I came out against him. People are not being sincere, people are not appreciative. In 2019, ask Peter Obi, I was one of the teams that chose Obi to be the vice presidential candidate of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. When we met at Abubakar’s house, he said these are the names, I will chose Obi. Obi was invited while we were at Saraki’s house in the night. I was fought by people like (Ike) Ekweremadu, (David) Umahi, and Pius Anyim. Every blame was on me, why would I be the one that will say Peter Obi should go?”
He berated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, for failing to deliver his state, Benue for the PDP.
“What can the National Chairman tell me now when he could not deliver his state? He could not deliver his polling unit?
“A small circle of people, you can’t control them. You lost and you say you are the National Chairman. If you have lost it in our states, it is the states that will make the ‘national’ thick. Without the state, you can’t be strong.”
From records of the 12 states where Atiku raked in 6,984,520 votes, Benue was not captured for the PDP, as the majority of the people voted for Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Tinubu who raked in 8,794,726 votes came tops in 12 states and secured significant votes in several other states to emerge as president-elect.
Wike and Ayu have been at loggerheads following the former’s demand that the latter should relinquish his position.
In the build-up to the February 25 presidential election, Wike’s G-5 declined to support the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
