The spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Dino Melaye, says Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State is a shameless attention seeker who revels in disparaging Atiku Abubakar.
Melaye was reacting to Wike’s comments on former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of Labour Party’s Peter Obi for the 2023 presidential election.
Obasanjo had in a lengthy letter on New Year’s Day implored Nigerians to vote for the former Anambra State Governor, ditching his former vice Atiku Abubakar.
Reacting to this on Monday, the Rivers State Governor said Obasanjo’s choice of Obi over Atiku means “there is something fundamentally wrong”.
“I was praying that Obasanjo should not say anything. When I saw the letter last night, I was touched. If your principal cannot recommend you, then there is something fundamentally wrong,” Wike said.
However, in a swift scathing response, Melaye castigated the Rivers State Governor, accusing him of disrespect and unwarranted insult on the former vice president whom he said his only crime was beating Wike to the PDP presidential ticket in May 2022.
“Wike should be ashamed that he has constantly solicited the attention of Atiku by his continuous disrespect and unwarranted insult of a man who did nothing to you. Atiku’s only crime is that he won a transparent presidential primary,” Melaye said in a statement.
He added, “Wike was chief of staff to Amaechi but Amaechi did not trust him enough to hand over to him. I advise him to support whoever he wishes to support as we will no longer tolerate his insolent tendencies.
“The question is; is there something wrong with Wike that Amaechi did not hand over to him? Why will Prince Uche Secondus, Rt Hon. Austin Okpara, Sen. Lee Meaba, H:E Celestine Omehia, Chief Abiye Sikibo, Sen George Sekibo, Hon. Chinyere Igwe, etc, leave him unceremoniously for Atiku. Something is definitely wrong somewhere.”