Atiku humiliated Jonathan in 2015, Wike alleges

Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike has alleged the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar mounted pressure on former President Goodluck Jonathan to relinquish the 2015 presidential ticket of the party.

Wike said Atiku embarrassed and humiliated Jonathan, who as a sitting President and candidate visited him in Donchester Hotel, London to beg him to return to the party to support his second term bid.

The Governor spoke on Tuesday when he led his Ebonyi counterpart, Dave Umahi, to inaugurate the Akpabu-Omudioga-Egbeda Road constructed by his administration.

He said: “What I don’t like is that we forget history easily. In 2015 when Jonathan as a sitting President won his primaries, Jonathan went to London in Donchester Hotel to plead with this our presidential candidate today, Atiku Abubakar, say ‘please my brother come back to the party and support me’.

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“Do you know the condition they gave to Jonathan? That he should relinquish his ticket not to run as the president of Nigeria. That was a sitting President and presidential candidate of a ruling party. They gave him that condition telling him to relinquish that ticket for him not to run.

“When I see some people running around and talking rubbish, they forget history easily. Today we are not saying the presidential candidate should relinquish his ticket, we are not being selfish. We are only saying since you are now the presidential candidate, let our people take chairmanship and they say they will kill me. Is it possible?’’

The Governor said some persons he described as rent seekers from Rivers were running around the presidential candidate banking on promises that they would become Ministers.

He, however, said it was foolhardy for people who had not captured an animal to be deciding how it would be shared insisting that they should be given the position they demanded for in the party.

Wike added: “I challenge them. Did they not embarrass Jonathan when he was running as a sitting President? I said Donchester Hotel in London. But they said he should relinquish the ticket. Now you are not a sitting President, you are just a presidential candidate, we say hold it we will support you but let us have this one.

“People should appreciate things in life. So, all those people, scavengers, vampires running around everywhere thinking they have what it takes. Nobody. The women seated here, all the youths, all these men will decide what will be as far as this election is concerned. So, nobody can intimidate me”.

The Nation