I Didn’t Reject Wike, Atiku Says, Reveals Why He Picked Okowa as Running Mate

• PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has opened up on why he picked Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate
• Atiku, in a TV interview aired on Friday, July 22, said he picked the Delta state governor because he wanted someone he could work with
• The PDP flag bearer, however, said he did not reject Wike, saying the River state governor is a brilliant and courageous politician

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said he did not pick Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state as his running mate because he wanted someone he could work with “amicably”.

The former vice-president stated this in an interview with Arise TV on Friday, July 22, monitored by Legit.ng.

The PDP candidate had picked Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election, despite the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) endorsing Wike for the role.

Read also

BREAKING: Governor Wike releases crucial statement on Atiku, PDP

The choice had created a crisis within the party, with a group of aggrieved stakeholders insisting that Wike should be picked.

I didn't reject Wike - Atiku

Speaking on his choice of vice-presidential candidate, Atiku said he opted for Okowa instead of Wike because he wanted someone that could “deliver the policies of the party, and also try to unify the country”.

His words:

“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.

“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. Certainly not.”

Read also

Running mate: Atiku faults Governor Ortom's claim, reveals details of PDP committee's report on Wike, others

Muslim-Muslim ticket: Atiku reveals major disagreement he has with Tinubu

Meanwhile, Atiku also said the Muslim-Muslim ticket option made him reject Asiwaju Bola Tinubu when he wanted to be his running mate in 2007.

Atiku, who served as the deputy of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007, fell out with his principal in the bid to succeed him.

He, however, later clinched the presidential ticket of Action Congress (AC), a party that Tinubu was instrumental to its formation after the political “Tsunami” that hit Alliance for Democracy (AD) governors who were elected in 1999.

Source: Legit.ng