JUST IN: Wike Tackles Atiku over ‘Divisive’ Comment, Demands Apology
POLITICS DIGEST – Rivers Governor, Nyesom Wike, has called on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to apologise to Nigerians following the allegedly divisive and controversial remarks the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, made in Kaduna over the weekend.
“I know the whole of this country. I have built bridges across this country. I think what the average northerner needs is somebody who is from the north, who also understands the other parts of Nigeria, and who has been able to build bridges across the rest of the country.
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“This is what the northerner needs. He (the northerner) doesn’t need a Yoruba candidate or an Igbo candidate. This is what the northerner needs. I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of northern origin,” Atiku was quoted in an interaction with northern stakeholders.
Speaking in Port Harcourt on Monday shortly after arriving from Spain, Wike said he initially doubted the possibility of Atiku making such a statement at a critical time in the nation’s history.
He added that such a disposition of the presidential candidate would justify his fight for equity, justice and fairness in the PDP.
He insisted that the party must urgently address the issue and appeal to Nigerians otherwise people would begin to see the party as one that lacked justice and equity.
Wike and four other governors have been at loggerheads with the party’s leadership over the refusal of the national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, to resign and pave way for a southerner.
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