Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has accused the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, of including the “enemies” of the state in the PDP Presidential Campaign Council.

Wike, who lost the PDP presidential primaries to Atiku in May, said the former Vice President disrespected him by picking the state’s PDP presidential campaign nominees without his contribution.

The governor said this while speaking at the inauguration of the PDP campaign council and the launching of the party’s governorship campaign office in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital on Monday.

He added that the pictures of Atiku and those of the opposition party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, have been missing from the state’s PDP campaign materials because they don’t want him and the people of Rivers State to campaign for the party at the national level ahead of the 2023 general election.

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Governor Wike, however, said he would campaign for the PDP governorship and senatorial candidates in River State.

He said: “Some people have asked me why they haven’t seen the presidential candidate’s picture and the party chairman’s. I said what are you talking about?

“The presidential candidate entered my state and picked members of the presidential council without a whole governor of a state having a contribution.

“The presidential candidate entered Rivers State and picked those he wants to pick without my contribution. So, they said they don’t need me to campaign for them, that they don’t need Rivers people to campaign for them. Will you force yourself?

“I have never seen how people will disrespect a state like Rivers State and go and choose those who are enemies of the state without our contributions
“If they want us to be involved in the campaign, they will come and tell us. If he (Atiku) thinks we are important, they will come and meet us,” Wike stated.

The governor and his allies have since been calling for the removal of Ayu as a condition to campaign for the party’s presidential candidate ahead of the 2023 general election, stressing that the PDP chairman should step down for a southerner.

Governor Wike and his allies, on September 20, announced their withdrawal from the PDP presidential campaign council.

They also boycotted the inauguration of the party’s campaign council held on September 28 in Abuja.

Wike, who has failed to appear at the party presidential rallies, further accused Ayu of collecting N1 billion from Atiku before the PDP presidential primaries held in Abuja.

The Star