Wike, Atiku Clash As PDP Identify Region To Get Campaign Director-General

The verbal war between the camps of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, refuses to end.

Naija News reports that Governor Wike’s camp has continued to accuse Atiku of paying lip service to reconciliation efforts and refusing to carry Wike along in the composition of the Campaign Council.

But reacting, loyalists of Atiku stated that the Rivers governor’s remarks and actions do not show someone who wants to be carried along by the party.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Vanguard: “Is Wike carrying himself along? The truth of the matter is that there have been extensive overtures to bring him on board and his behavior and actions have not been reflecting someone who wants to come on board.

“To that extent, the party cannot wait for him to come on board, and neither can the candidate wait for him. There seems to be a sense that everybody wants to move on. If and when he is ready to come on board, he (Wike) is welcome and if he thinks otherwise, so be it.”

The source revealed that the PDP candidate may pick the Director-General of his campaign council from the South-West as a way of placating the region.

The source said: “I am sure you are aware that Wike and Atiku met recently. Now, when you enter such negotiations, one of the principles of peacemaking is that you withdraw all hostilities but he entered a treaty and is still behaving as if the meeting did not exist or does not matter.

“It means that you are giving the people a sense that everything you want to do, is to stagnate the process of growth and movement. It is not true to say they did not reach out to him. It is on record that he was reached out to but what we should interrogate is his reaction to that effort.

“If people come to see Atiku and you say you will bury them in Rivers, does that suggest that he wants to work with Atiku? His language does not show he wants to be carried along.”