Ayo Fayose, a former governor of Ekiti State, has outlined why he thinks Nyesom Wike will never back Atiku Abubakar, the PDP's candidate for the presidency.
In an exclusive telephone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Fayose stated that after President Muhammadu Buhari's second term expires in 2023, leadership must move to the southern region of Nigeria.
The former governor of Ekiti claimed that Mr. Atiku broke his pledge to Mr. Wike by choosing Ifeanyi Okowa, the governor of Delta State, as his running mate.
“Wike never said he wanted to be VP, but when Atiku visited him, he was the one who said, ‘I want you to be my VP’. He said that to Wike. If that then changes, is Wike not supposed to be told? Is he not supposed to know?
He recalled that Mr. Atiku's decision to disregard the recommendation of a committee appointed by the opposition party to select his running mate.
“PDP set up a committee to recommend a running mate for the candidate and the committee voted and picked Wike, but they didn’t comply with the recommendation of the committee.”
“If the party is now a one-man show, we will show them that we can resist it. We are with Wike 100 per cent.
When they need Wike’s money and Wike’s support, they will say, ‘Wike is good enough’. Wike has been injured, but we will remain with him. Whatever he does is what we would do; wherever he asks us to go is where we will go.”
The former governor responded to a question on what would happen if Mr. Wike asked them to support Mr. Atiku by saying:
“Wike will never say we should support Atiku.
Wike cannot come out to say he is supporting Atiku. I dare him to say so; because he knows that whatever he says will haunt him forever. If Wike supports Atiku, we will abandon him.”
‘Power to the south’
When asked if the intention was to officially support either Peter Obi of the Labour Party or Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Fayose responded, "This is not about Bola Tinubu or Obi, but this is about our belief that power must come to the south and it is a struggle we must actualize.
Mr. Fayose added, "The presidency was assigned to the southwest to appease the southwest region after the June 12 election was cancelled."
“When former President Goodluck Jonathan was over staying, it was believed that he was already using the northern slot. So, he was opposed and a northern candidate was installed through the APC. This time, it is the turn of the south because Buhari has spent eight years. Why will PDP be insisting that it must again be the turn of the north.”
Mr. Fayose added that he doesn't mind if people think of his acts as being anti-party.
“ What I am saying is, it is the turn of the South, and if they want to expel me, to hell with them. I am not taking money from anyone to belong to this party.
“If they want to rock this boat, we will help them to rock it.”
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