Why Jonathan Can’t Back Atiku, By Wike

Forum 1 year ago

Why Jonathan Can’t Back Atiku, By Wike

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday explained why former President Goodluck Jonathan is not likely to support Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar in next year’s election.

He recalled that Atiku never backed Dr. Jonathan for his re-election bid, adding that he mounted pressure on the former president to relinquish the 2015 presidential ticket of the party.

Wike said the former vice president embarrassed and humiliated Jonathan, who as a sitting President and candidate visited him in Donchester Hotel, London, to beg him to return to the party to support his second term bid.

The governor spoke when he led his Ebonyi State counterpart, Dave Umahi, to inaugurate the Akpabu-Omudioga-Egbeda road constructed by his administration.

He said: “What I don’t like is that we forget history easily. In 2015 when Jonathan as a sitting president won his primary, Jonathan went to London in Donchester Hotel to plead with this our presidential candidate today, Atiku Abubakar, to say ‘please, my brother, come back to the party and support me’.

“Do you know the condition they gave to Jonathan? That he should relingush his ticket not to run as president of Nigeria. That was a sitting president and presidential candidate of a ruling party. They gave him that condition, telling him to relinguish that ticket for him not to run.

“When I see some people running around and talking rubbish, they forget history easily. Today, we are not saying the presidential candidate should relinguish his ticket. We are not being selfish. We are only saying since you are now the presidential candidate, let our people take chairmanship and they say they will kill me. Is it possible?

The governor said some persons he described as rent seekers from Rivers were running around the presidential candidate banking on promises that they would become ministers.

Wike, however, said it was foolhardy for people who had not captured an animal to be deciding how it would be shared.

He said: “When you see some rent seekers from here going around saying they will give me minister of finance, they will give me governor of Central Bank, you haven’t killed an animal and you are saying women, don’t eat it. Kill the animal first to know whether women will eat or not.

“I don’t want that kind of promise. Give my people this one we are talking now. Give us. Give us the chairman so that things can move freely. I am not greedy. They come and tell you stories.

“I challenge them. Did they not embarrass Jonathan when he was running as a sitting President? I said Donchester Hotel in London. But they said he should relingush the ticket. Now, you are not a sitting President, you are just a presidential candidate. We say hold it, we will support you but let us have this one.

“People should appreciate things in life. So all those people, scavengers, vampires running around everywhere thinking they have what it takes. Nobody. The women seated here, all the youths, all these men will decide what will be as far as this election is concerned. So, nobody can intimidate me”.

Wike said some people were not happy that he commended Buhari for releasing the money he was using to execute projects in the state, warning them some persons to stay clear of him and whatever plans they had against him.

He said: “That is why when I said they should thank Buhari, people started fighting me. I came here you brought yam, plantain, cow; what are you doing. Is it not thanking me for this road? What is wrong if I said thank somebody who released money nobody released and I am using it to work for my people?

“They are coming to fight me. You can’t fight me. Even God says when someone has helped you, give thanks. When you give thanks, you get more. For those who don’t like to say thank you, it is their business and they will face God later.

“So, I have no apology to give to anybody. Let’s warn anybody who dares to do any rubbish because I said we should thank the President. Be very careful with me because what will come you can’t stand it”.

The governor wondered why persons, who forced the PDP into opposition, had become defenders of the party, adding that he withdrew the suit he instituted against Umahi to reclaim the PDP mandate when he joined the APC because of some steps the national chairman of his party took without his knowledge.

Wike said the road projects was meant to link Akpabu, Umudioga, Egbeda and other communities in the same ward, which could only be accessed separately through the East-West road.

He said: “They are all in the same ward. You cannot pass here to go to Umudiagha. You have to take East West Road again to go there. But today, you can pass here to go there. We have connected Akpabu bridge to Odido. They have never seen road in their life.

“This is an agricultural area. When you produce food, you can take it to the market. I am not just an Ikwere man, I am a proper Ikwere man. I will not leave this office until I am fully satisfied that I have done something for my people. As I am leaving, another person is coming.

“The only thing I will beg you. As I am doing all these things for you, please, keep your votes for us. At the appropriate time, we will come and tell you where you will go. Don’t mind all those people. They have run away to Abuja. Let them come. Ask them when they were minister, what they did for their people”.

Wike asked Umahi not to bother about spending any money on any APC candidate in Rivers, insisting that only the PDP existed in the state.

“I thank you for coming to see what we are doing here so that you don’t make mistake of sending your money to anybody as candidate. Those who are running your party here are those who hid our plane and sold our gas turbine.

“There is no chance at all. It is not propaganda. It is good to invite other parties. Kwankwaso was here. Obi was here. Many of these PDP leaders abusing me now had been here to inaugurate projects; just that I stopped a bit and they are angry. I have invited you enough; let me invite other parties so that they will help me and advise their people to step down. It is a strategy for me to win elections”.

Umahi, who backed Wike’s fight for justice, fairness and equity, said all of them in the South must stand on the Asaba Accord, an agreement by governors across party lines, that the Presidency must move to the South.

He said: “Many times Wike has rescued PDP. If you didn’t have someone like Wike, when we pulled out, it was going to be mass exodus. But the moment he engaged me, every other person became afraid. So, he saved the soul of PDP.

“When you say give us the chairman of the party, I said no, it is not just that. We had the Asaba Accord. All the governors of South came together and say for the interest of this country, let the next president come from South. It doesn’t matter where it will come from.

“You did not initiate that meeting. It was initiated by the Governor of Ondo for Southwest, the governor of Delta for Southsouth and myself for Southeast. When we told you, you came and talked to other governors. There was this Asaba Accord. It was in the Government House of Delta State. So, nobody else will come to tell anybody any other thing. Integrity is very important.

“You will never depart from that accord. I stand on Asaba Accord. I support most of the northern governors, who in their wisdom and for the interest of this country, came together and said look, let the South take the next President.

“Even though I thought they were going to support me during the primary, I am happy they brought a professional, a man who has track record of performance, another Mr. Project in the person of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu”.

Umahi said he would not partake in any other campaign in Rivers apart from the APC presidential campaign to garner votes for Tinubu.

He told the Rivers governor that the APC was not interested in the logistic supports he extended to Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso, but that the party was interested in Rivers votes for Tinubu.

He said: “Here you are on ground. Many people can occupy the social media, but you have occupied Rivers State. When your party people said they have nominated a replacement for you, I say no problem; that should be on Facebook. Let the person touch ground in Rivers.

“You are 99 per cent in control. I thank you for not putting any kobo in Ebonyi again. The same way, because I have worked. You don’t have any PDP in Ebonyi. It is only APC. Our votes in Ebonyi will go to Asiwaju.

“My party APC doesn’t need logistics. We have seen how you promised all the candidates logistic support. We don’t need logistic support. We need votes just for the presidential one only. All I am asking is that presidential one.