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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the presidential flagbearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Friday said he did not pick Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, as his running mate because he wanted someone he could work with “amicably”.
The former vice-president spoke in a chat with Arise TV on Friday.
It would be recalled that Atiku had after announcing Okowa as his running mate clarified that he picked the Delta governor because (Okowa) had the qualities to be a President, adding that he “is a President-in-waiting.”
He said, “In arriving at the decision, I held wide consultations with various stakeholders in our party including our governors, the national working committee, board of trustees, and other leaders to seek their inputs and their wisdom.”
“In these consultations, I made clear that my running mate would have the potential to succeed me at a moment’s notice, that is, a president-in-waiting.
“In other words, the person must have the qualities to be President. The person must have an appreciation of the deep rot which our country has been put into by the rudderless All Progressives Congress government; understands the great suffering that most of our people are going through and the urgency of relieving them of that suffering; understands the critical importance of economic growth and development to provide our young people with jobs, hope, and a pathway to wealth.”
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Arise TV which was aired Friday morning, Atiku said he chose who he felt could deliver among the nominees that were presented to him.
He added that Wike was not rejected and that he only picked who could deliver.
Atiku said,
“I didn’t reject Wike, I picked who can deliver. Wike is brilliant and tenacious. Going by history, I picked an Igbo as running mate in 2007, in 2019. I still picked an Igbo as running mate for 2023.
“The committee that presented the three nominees was chaired by the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom. They recommended three people, so I picked one. People should be fair to me and state the facts.”
On the possibility of resolving issues with Wike, Atiku said the party was talking to Wike.
“We are reaching out to Wike and talking to him, very soon, we will resolve our internal crises.
“I have contested this presidency a couple of times and I don’t try to blame anybody, I accept the outcome or go to court,” Atiku said.
Atiku also noted that he was driven by the passion to serve the country.
“I’m driven by passion and desire to give back to this country. I’m driven by the passion to give back to this country because of what the country has done for me.
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“With what I have been able to accomplish at my age, I don’t desire any other thing other than the passion to serve my country.
Speaking on zoning, Atiku said the PDP had never agreed to zone presidency to the South, noting that there was no concession like that.“We never zoned to any part of the country,” he said.
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