A former Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, said the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, did not pick Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike as his running mate because he (Wike) was too abusive.
In fact, Aliyu stated during an interview on Channels TV programme that Wike “insulted his way to power.”
He said: “You do not go around choosing people that will not compliment you.
“You choose people who will complement your office. People that are ready to take over from you and will make you comfortable.
“Unfortunately, I don’t know if it is his temperament. Sometimes when you speak too much. When you insult your way to power, it does not always happen.
“I can count many people who he has insulted. People will say he is always speaking his mind. But there are times you don’t need to speak your mind,” Babangida Aliyu was quoted to have said in a report by The Nation while explaining the preferred choice of Governor Ifeanyi Okiwa over Wike by Atiku.
But in a riposte by Wike, excerpted and circulating via the WhatsApp platform, Wike was reported to have said: “Aliyu Babangida has no job. If we have a meeting by 4pm, he’s already there by 2pm bulging his big eyes. He’s making noise that PDP will recover Cross River and Ebonyi state, ask him what will be his contribution; he has nothing to offer PDP….”
Recall that Wike emerged second in the PDP presidential primary poll.
A PDP committee empowered to find a suitable running mate for Atiku had listed him as number one with 16 votes and Okowa with 3 votes while Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State came third with zero votes.
However, Okowa was chosen by Atiku for the position, a development that has heightened tension in the party.
