Rivers state PDP Governorship Aspirant Urges Wike to Withdraw from Race
A People’s Democratic Party gubernatorial aspirant in Rivers States, Atamuno Ajubo Atamuno, has urged former Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, to withdraw from the governorship race.
Atamuno, said in a press conference in Abuja that Wike’s choice as the flagbearer in the state elections would only ensure a loss for the party.
He said: “We are looking unto the National Executive Council, the National Working Committee and the Board of the party to advise Wike to step aside in the interest of the party because all that happened were orchestrated plans and strategies by a group of people to continue to dominate the politics of the state against the overall interests of the state.
“If Wike is going to participate there will be no primaries. We don’t want him to participate. If he can do what he has done to party members, what will happen if he gets into office?”
According to Atamuno, Wike should also not be involved in the race as it was time for power to shift from Upland to the Riverine part of Rivers, after 16 years.
“Today the Rivers people are disgruntled. Apart from the internal wrangling in the party, there is what we refer to as the Upland and Lowland dynamics of Rivers politics.
“Powers would have been in the Upland for 16 years, by May 2015. Even before now, after the eight years of Peter Odili, there were agitations that power should go to the Riverine but some people said we should wait and we agreed with them.”
Atamuno also said that the crisis between the Governor of the state, Rotimi Amaechi and President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, which eventually led to his defection to the opposition party, was orchestrated and manipulated by Mr. Wike for his personal advantage.
“The genesis of all the crisis in that state were all fake. They were sponsored from what we can see. We all worked for the party. Everybody worked. Soon after the swearing of the governor for the a second term, they came up with a master plan, starting a crisis where there was no crisis at all.
“The First Lady led a campaign for the governor’s second term. She appealed to her people and they supported her. So what brought about this crisis. How come soon after the governor was sworn-in there was a crisis between the governor and the first family?”
