Lere Olayinka, the spokesman to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, on Sunday declared that his principal never wanted to be the running mate to former Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in 2023.
Olayinka said Wike was never keen on being Atiku's running mate due to the enormous baggages the former vice president carried.
The Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to Wike insisted that Atiku lied in his claim that he picked the former Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as his presidential running mate in the 2023 based on the report of the committee set up by the PDP.
Olayinka, in a statement on Sunday, said the comment by Atiku's media office was face-saving and “an attempt to use further lies to defend Atiku's previous lies”.
Olayinka said, “The report of the committee was released so as to set the records straight, and this has made Atiku and his men to confess that in selecting his running mate, he (Atiku) did not follow the report of the committee set up by the PDP. He simply picked who he wanted, not who the party wanted.
“By saying that ‘there were no laid down rules or laws on the selection process of a running mate. Committees, consultations, and recommendations are advisory in nature. The final decision rests solely and exclusively with the presidential candidate, in this case, Atiku Abubakar. It is a constitutional and strategic choice, 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. That he chose to lie during the Holy Month of Ramadan is however between him and Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala).
“As for his choice of running mate in 2019 and 2023, it is our position that Atiku, as the PDP candidate, had the right to make whatever choice, and he should be able to defend his choice and be honest for once to accept the consequences, not trying to misrepresent facts to justify the choice he made.
“It is also to be reiterated that just as Atiku, the loser in the election, has said he has no regret over the choice he made, Wike too has no regret over his choice.
“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.
“Also, as for us, no ego is bruised, no bitterness too. Just a clear case of we making our choice and you making your own choice. But more than two years after, you are now trying to defend your own choice of failure with lies.”
