By Philip Yatai
Mr Lere Olayinka, an aide to Mr Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says that his principal has not regretted working against Vice President Atiku Abubakar during the 2023 presidential election.
Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the minister said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.
Olayinka faulted Atiku’s claimed that he picked former Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta as his running mate in the 2023 presidential election based on a report of the committee set up by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He explained that the committee was set up to select a running mate for Atiku, describing the statement issued by the Media Office of the two-time PDP presidential candidate as “face-saving”.
According to him, Wike was never keen about being Atiku’s running mate and he had no regret working against him in the 2023 presidential election.
Olayinka said that after the committee’s report was released, indicating that Wike was the first choice while Okowa was second, Atiku and his men backpedaled that the committee’s report was not followed.
He said Atiku agreed that he simply picked who he wanted, not who the party wanted, arguing that there were no laid down rules or laws on the selection process of a running mate.
He further said that the Atiku’s media team insisted that the committee’s consultations and recommendations were advisory in nature, adding that the final decision rests solely and exclusively with Atiku.
“By arguing that Okowa’s choice was a constitutional and strategic choice and not a popularity contest,’ Atiku’s Media Office has confirmed that their principal actually lied and never had any regard for the PDP as a party.
“It, therefore, gladdens our hearts that we have been able to establish that Atiku lied and he is not a man to be trusted.
“It is also to be reiterated that just as Atiku said he has no regret over the choice he made, Wike too has no regret over his choice not to support him in the 2023 election.
“Therefore, no one is harboring any personal ill-feeling against Atiku for failing with the choice he made, and no one should also harbour ill-feeling against Wike for succeeding with the choice he made,” he said.
Speaking about PDP and the task of rebuilding it, Olayinka said it was necessary for Atiku to first come clear as to which party he belongs to.
“This is because the PDP has not formed a coalition with any political party”.
(NAN)
