2023: Atiku eyes Wike as running mate, South-East kicks

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, National Daily has gathered.

But the choice of Wike is already causing ripples within the ranks of the party as many thought Atiku-Peter Obi’s presidential ticket in 2023 would have done the magic, considering their feat in the 2019 general election.

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.

Although it could not be confirmed at press time if the Rivers State governor has accepted the offer, sources close to the party hierarchy said the matter formed part of the discussions at the recent meeting of the PDP governors’ forum hosted by Wike in Port Harcourt.

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It was gathered that the governor had used the opportunity to seek the support of his colleagues for the Atiku-Wike 2023 ticket; an issue that many of those in attendance were said to have kicked against, especially on the basis of the common belief in the party that the next president of Nigeria should emanate from the South East.

Weeks before the meeting, Wike had visited some of the PDP governors to personally invite them to the meeting. One of them was the Abia State governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, who, when it was gathered, initially agreed to attend but changed his mind at the last minute.

Ikpeazu neither attended nor sent representatives fueling speculation of a possible rift between him and Wike.

When contacted, an aide to Ikpeazu, who spoke under anonymity, said his boss refused to attend the meeting in Port Harcourt because he did not want to be part of a grand plan to deny the Igbos their right to rule Nigeria.

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He said: “My brother, you know my governor, he is one man that strongly believes in the 2023 Igbo presidency, and attending that meeting would mean endorsing a project that would truncate the Igbo collective agenda. Even though Governor Wike personally came to Umuahia to invite him to the meeting, Ikpeazu refused to honour the invitation.

Recently in Enugu, leaders of the PDP in the South-East warned the party against zoning the presidency to the north. They insist it was the turn of the South-East to produce the next presidential candidate of the party, stressing that both the south-west and south-south have had their turns.

According to them, the zone deserves to produce the next president because of its people’s “eminent qualifications and overwhelming contributions to the development of all parts of the federation through the years,” adding that zoning the presidential tickets of parties to the Southeast would be “the best way of ensuring that we build a nation that leaves no one or group behind.”

Those who spoke include former Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim; Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe; former Abia State governor, Theodore Orji; PDP Vice-National Chairman, South-East, Ali Odefa, and former Imo State chairman, National Population Commission, Duru Iheoma.