Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike said on Tuesday that former President Goodluck Jonathan begged former Vice President Atiku Abubakar to support his re-election bid in 2015, but the Adamawa-born politician refused.
Wike made the remarks during the commissioning of the Akpabu-Itu-Umudiogha road in Rivers’ Emohua Local Government Area by Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi.
According to him, Jonathan went to London’s Dorchester Hotel in 2015 to meet Atiku, but the former VP “embarrassed” Jonathan and told him to return his ticket to him.
Wike, who contested the presidential primary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won by Atiku in May, said he is not asking Atiku to step down as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 elections. He said, instead, Atiku should ensure the removal of Iyorchia Ayu as PDP national chairman for a southern replacement.
The Rivers governor said, “We forget history. In 2015 when Jonathan as a sitting President, I am not talking as a presidential candidate but as a sitting President, when he had won his primary, Jonathan went to London to Dorchester Hotel, he went to plead with Atiku Abubakar to come back to the party and support him.
“You know the condition he (Atiku) gave Jonathan? He should relinquish his ticket not to run as the President of Nigeria. That was the presidential candidate of a ruling party. He gave him a condition, telling him to relinquish that ticket.
“Today, we are not saying the presidential candidate should relinquish his ticket; we are not being selfish, we are saying since you are now the presidential candidate, let our people take chairmanship.”
Jonathan, the PDP’s presidential candidate in 2015, was defeated by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Muhammadu Buhari.
On November 17, Atiku and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, paid a visit to Jonathan at his Abuja residence to try to resolve the PDP crisis, but the former President has not been heard from since then.
With the 2023 presidential election just three months away, there are concerns that intra-party squabbles between Wike and Atiku over the chairmanship of Ayu will harm the Adamawa-born politician’s chances.
Wike and four other PDP governors, known as the G5 or the Integrity Group, want Benue-born Ayu to step down in order for a southerner to take over the party’s northern dominance.
