Atiku vs Wike: Nobody can play God – Fayose on advice to PDP presidential candidate

 

Former Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose, has opened up on the advice he gave the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, on how to solve the enmity between him and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

 

Fayose, who admitted that nobody could play God, revealed that he advised Atiku to go to Port Harcourt to resolve with Wike amid the lingering crisis of the PDP but his advice fell on deaf ears.

 

He disclosed this in an interview with TVC on Wednesday.

 

Fayose said, “Our candidate, Atiku Abubakar invited me and I told him I was going to tell [Nyesom] Wike before I could come. When I told Wike and he said I can go. Somebody said, but you’re an older Governor than Wike, but whatever, that is your story. God makes kings, God makes people be leaders, you might be younger, or older as long as he’s the leader.

 

“So I went to our candidate in his hotel and I told him, “Your Excellency, it would be of great interest if you win the [2023 Presidential] election. I told him these are the demands of these people.” I said, “please stop saying by the constitution [Iyorchia] Ayu can’t be removed.”

 

“I advised him, I gave him alternatives to what he should be saying and I told him, the more he mentions this constitution, they’ll be reminding you that you aren’t supposed to be the candidate. How can they hold on to an [Iyorchia] Ayu against Wike, against [ Ifeanyi] Ugwuanyi, against the governor of Abia, against the governor of Benue, and so on?

 

“Even if you tell me that they lost, everyone knows that [Peter] Obi had the East. They weren’t expecting that a miracle would happen. But the issue is that I told His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, I said Sir, go to Port Harcourt, don’t tell anybody, people like me will go and wait for you there, I and Gov. Wike, just provide a few friends that can get a convoy for you to come and park at Governor WIke’s gate.

 

“They will come and see us at the gate. We will now sit down there and he will hold Wike and settle the matter. But certain people around Abubakar said no, don’t embarrass our Presidential candidate, he’s the president in waiting, nobody can feel big, nobody can play God.”

 

Recall that the PDP held its presidential primaries last May this year.

 

Atiku emerged as PDP’s Presidential flagbearer for the 2023 general election.

 

Atiku defeated Wike after he secured 371 votes, while the governor, who came second, garnered 237 votes.

 

Wike has been aggrieved with PDP’s leadership over Atiku’s choice of a running mate.

 

Atiku ignored Wike, who came second during the PDP’s presidential primaries, a situation that tore the party apart.

 

Following his action, Wike called for the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu.

 

The governor noted that the North could not produce PDP’s presidential candidate and the National Chairman.