Wike loyalists still believe Atiku will drop Okowa and pick their man as his running mate

GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike's supporters have not given up hope of their man being selected as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) vice presidential candidate as they still believe Alhaji Atiku Abubakar can drop Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for their man.

Late last month, the PDP elected Alhaji Abubakar as its flagbearer for next year's presidential election at its annual convention in Abuja. He has since picked Delta State governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate, which has caused some consternation in the Wike camp, as some party members expected him to be selected.

Governor Wike's team is thought to feel a sense of entitlement, particularly as he came second to Alhaji Abubakar in the party primaries. Already. several party leaders, including the Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and former Plateau State governor Jonah Jang, have criticised the choice of Governor Okowa as the party’s vice presidential candidate.

Apparently, last Friday, Governor Wike snubbed a former minister of police affairs and Atiku ally, Adamu Waziri, who attempted to initiate peace talks with him in Turkey. Speaking for the Wike camp, Confidence Deko, the chairman of Gokana Local Government Area in Rivers State, said his principal did not deserve the treatment he got from  Atiku and the PDP.

Mr Deko said: “As far I am concerned, Wike has done so much for the PDP and I don’t think he deserves what the party gave to him. Come to think of it, Atiku Abubakar and the party asked the national working committee (NWC) to find out who becomes the vice-president.

"A report was submitted and Atiku ignored the report and then picked Ifeanyi Okowa, the Delta State governor. I am not saying he is not supposed to use somebody but I am of the view that if he was part of those who asked the NWC to search for who becomes the vice president to be and they gave him their recommendation, he would have acted on it.

“To me, it looks very odd that after submitting the report to him, he went and announced Okowa. I don’t think that Wike deserves what Atiku has done to him.”

Some members of the House of Representatives loyal to Governor Wike contended that the PDP was bound to fail with its choice of Okowa as the running mate. Several PDP lawmakers, in separate interviews also took a swipe at the PDP national chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu, criticising his role in the crisis that has followed the presidential primaries.

When asked if the party should substitute Okowa with Wike, a member of the House of Representative from Kogi State, Hon Teejay Yusuf, said it was possible if the presidential candidate could see the value the Rivers State governor would add to the PDP ticket. He, however, dismissed the possibility of Governor Wike, who he described as a party man, dumping the PDP for another party or working with another party or presidential candidate.