The governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, said he would no longer be part of the effort to get Governor Godwin Obaseki secure the ticket of the Peopl
The governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, said he would no longer be part of the effort to get Governor Godwin Obaseki secure the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, or the forthcoming governorship election in Edo state which will hold its primary in Edo on Thursday.
Some PDP governorship aspirants in Edo State have insisted they would not step down for Obaseki who defected to the party a few days ago after he was disqualified by his former party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) from taking part in its primary. One of the PDP aspirants has filed a case in court, seeking to bar the embattled Edo governor from contesting the PDP primary.
Wike stated on Twitter that he was withdrawing from helping Obaseki secure the ticket because of some “senseless accusation” made against him in ThisDay newspaper. Wike posted a photo of himself brandishing a copy of ThisDay newspaper with a banner headline, ‘With a Friend Like Wike, Obaseki Meets His PDP’s Waterloo; Almost’.
The story, published on Tuesday, alleges a connection between Wike and the moves to use a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt to stop Obaseki from participating in the Edo PDP primary. The report said Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, the Edo PDP governorship aspirant who filed the court case, is Wike’s ally.
“As a result of this senseless accusation, I have pulled out of Edo State settlement. My integrity matters,” Wike said on Tuesday via his personal twitter handle, @GovWike.
Wike said he had sleepless nights, making attempts to resolve Governor Obaseki’s issues in PDP and help him secure the ticket.
“The Governors of Edo, Adamawa, and Delta states, know what I have done to resolve the issues in Edo state,” he said.
“I am brought up not to accept injustice, and that is why I keep speaking out on national issues. Nobody in PDP can intimidate Rivers State. Nobody can threaten me because I said things must be done constitutionally. I will always continue to satisfy my conscience.”
Wike said some members of the PDP National Working Committee were behind the ThisDay story.
“They are tax collectors. Let them challenge me and I will come out with more facts,” he said, adding that he has asked his lawyers to write to the paper.
“Nobody will rubbish me by raising false accusations against me. I will fight back. I will no longer participate in any reconciliation and I wonder why the NWC now wants to consult Governors of the party. From now on, I want to concentrate on the development of Rivers State.”
From Wike’s outburst, it appears the trouble of getting a party ticket is not yet over for Mr Obaseki whose ambition for a second term as governor came under serious threat after he fell apart with his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole, the suspended national chairman of APC.
