Why Wike Rejected Atiku’s Vice President’s Slot As Southern Governors Insist on Zoning

Governor  Nyesom Wike  of Rivers State’s  insistence that power should return to the South next year is in tandem with  the position of Southern governors, chairman of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Walid Jibrin, has said.

Wike had slammed those calling for the PDP presidential ticket to be zoned to the North.

Jibrin said: “There is nothing wrong with the position Governor Wike has taken on the 2023 presidential ticket of the PDP.

“People should not forget that he was a signatory to the position of the Southern Governors Forum that the presidency should move to the South in 2023.

“Also note that the Southern Governors Forum cuts across party lines because the governors that took that position are of the PDP and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). So, it’s a collective decision.

“Why should anyone expect Wike to go against a collective decision of his fellow southern governors.

“The views and comments made by Governor Wike cannot constitute problems for the PDP in any way.

“Every PDP member has a right to their views. It’s not only Wike that has spoken about the 2023 ticket of the PDP.

“Sule Lamido, Bala Mohammed, Aminu Tambuwal, Atiku Abubakar and a few others too have aired their views. PDP allows for freedom of expression. That is what makes us different from the APC.

“I am not in any way disturbed by the various views and opinions expressed by these party chieftains and I don’t think anybody should be disturbed by them”.

According to The Nations report, the BoT chair encouraged other PDP chieftains to freely express their opinions on the party’s 2023 presidential ticket and urged others who might be interested in the ticket to join the race.

He said the leadership of the PDP would not take sides with any of the aspirants, adding that the leadership will sort things out within a week.

“Give us one week and we will sort things out and take a common position on all issues,” he said, adding that the PDP would pick a candidate acceptable to Nigerians.