The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, yesterday tackled Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, saying the latter was too cowardly to come out openly to sell the candidacy of All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Tinubu, whom he had allegedly chosen to support.

In a statement by his Special Assistant on Public Communications Mr. Phrank Shaibu, the PDP candidate said Wike would not deliver his polling unit at unit 7, ward 9 in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State.

Shaibu, in the statement stated this while reacting to Wike’s jibes over the cancellation of Atiku’s presidential rally in his state.

He said, “Even the dead know that the APC can never win in Rivers State. Wike cannot deliver his polling unit to Tinubu. He is aware of this and that is why he is not bold enough to come out with his full chest to ask the people of the state to vote for Bola Tinubu. Rather, he is chasing shadows, making innuendos.

“At least Rotimi Amaechi was man enough to dump the PDP and defect to the APC in 2015, and openly campaigned for President Muhammadu Buhari against his kinsman, President Goodluck Jonathan. This is what real men do when they have the conviction. Wike said he would announce his preferred candidate in January 2023. Three weeks have since passed but he is not man enough to do so.”

Shaibu described Wike as a con man who, on the surface presents a façade of courage but was actually a lily-livered and small minded person hence his resort to the judiciary to protect him from being expelled from the PDP.

“Wike said if the PDP leadership had the balls, they should expel him. After making this statement, he quickly ran to a court to secure a kangaroo order barring the PDP from suspending or expelling him. This is a chicken hiding under the costume of a lion,” he stated.

Atiku’s aide said Wike’s only strategy was to give some miscreants money to foment violence on the day of election in order to suppress the voter turnout and mitigate Tinubu’s loss.

He said Rivers had become the most volatile state during elections since Wike began running for office, alleging that the governor had even confessed to killing people during a leaked telephone conversation with then Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State after the Rivers rerun in 2016.

“Even during the 2019 election, Rivers State witnessed the highest incidents of violence. This time again, Rivers has witnessed more violence than terror-ravaged communities in Somalia.

“There was even a bomb explosion at an APC rally where Mr. Tonye Cole accused Wike of being the mastermind. It is obvious that Wike, who talks like a bus conductor, is willing to bring the state to its knees,” he alleged further.

Atiku’s aide called on the Nigeria Police Force, the military and other agencies of government to give special attention to Rivers State by deploying additional boots on the ground that will boost the security of Rivers State during and after elections.

“Wike has made it difficult for anyone he doesn’t like to campaign in the state. If people cannot campaign, it is unlikely that he will allow them to vote. For this reason, we call on the military and the police to send additional men on the ground in Rivers State to secure this election,” he said.

Shaibu described as balderdash Wike’s claim that he was working for the fairness and the unity of Nigeria.

He said Wike’s grouse with the PDP had nothing to do with zoning or justice but the weeping of a, “full grown baby throwing tantrums after failing to secure his party’s ticket.”

Atiku’s aide said if Wike truly believed in fairness in politics, he would not have contested for governorship in 2015.

Shaibu added, “Rivers State has about 26 ethnic groups. Amaechi, an Ikwere man, served eight years as governor. There had been clamours for him to be succeeded by someone from the riverine community but Wike, who is also Ikwere, insisted on succeeding Amaechi, arguing that he was the only one strong enough to defeat him.

“Today, the leadership of the PDP has picked Atiku Abubakar as the most popular candidate to defeat the ruling APC. However, Wike has suddenly remembered his own sense of justice because it doesn’t favour him.

“Wike and justice should not be mentioned in the same statement. This is a man that has crushed dissent in his state, running Rivers like a dictator. He arrests people that don’t share his view, demolishes their buildings or revokes their land papers, and even desecrates traditional rulers. Wike is injustice personified.”

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