There are indications that the former Vice President and aspirant for the office of the President in the 2023 general election on the platform of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, may have picked Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, as his running mate in place of Peter Obi.
Obi, a former Anambra State governor, and economist was Atiku’s running mate in the 2019 general election. A former banker and technocrat, Obi brought charisma to the 2019 electioneering campaigns with his brilliant knowledge of economic management.
Sources say Atiku’s decision to dump Obi was because he allegedly made little financial contributions to the 2019 campaign purse as well as inability to win his state Anambra and the South East for the party in the presidential election.
“Prior to the 2019 election, Governor Peter Obi didn’t have a strong political structure outside the South East. People just loved him because of his vast knowledge of the economy, winning an election goes beyond all that.
“For instance, since he left office and joined PDP he has not been able to have his nominees win the governorship election in the state. Although he is brilliant and can speak good grammar, interprets the economy very well, winning an election is much more than that. How much did he bring to the table?
“To successfully run an election in this country you need money, connection, strong and vast political structure, etc, and these you find in abundance in Nyesom Wike. He is a good material any day and that’s not the kind of man you leave behind, especially if you want to win election in Nigeria,” according to a source close to the Atiku campaign team.
BusinessDay couldn’t confirm the veracity of the allegations made against Peter Obi as the message sent to his phone number was not responded to as at press time.
