ICYMI: Atiku lied about 2023 running mate selection, Wike never wanted to be his deputy, says Lere Olayinka

Lere Olayinka, the senior special assistant on public communications and social media to Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar lied about the process that led to the selection of his running mate in the 2023 presidential election.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Olayinka said Wike was never interested in being Atiku’s running mate.

He noted that Abubakar disregarded the recommendation of the committee set up by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and instead picked Ifeanyi Okowa, former Delta state governor, based on personal preference.

In June 2022, Abubakar announced Okowa as the vice-presidential candidate for the poll.

Before the announcement, there were speculations that Abubakar would pick Wike, who came second at the party’s primary, as his running mate.

But Wike’s supporters rejected the nomination of Okowa.

In a recent interview, the former vice-president said he has no regrets about the choice of his running mate, adding that he followed the decision of the party’s stakeholders in picking Okowa.

However, Olayinka described Abubakar’s response to the controversy as “face-saving” and “an attempt to use further lies to defend his previous lies.”

“By saying that ‘there were no laid-down rules or laws on the selection process of a running mate… the final decision rests solely and exclusively with the presidential candidate,’ Atiku’s media office has confirmed that their principal actually lied and never had any regard for the PDP as a party,” he said.

Olayinka added that Wike had no regrets about working against Abubakar in the 2023 election.

“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,” he added.

“Therefore, no one is harbouring any personal ill-feelings 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.”

Olayinka also questioned Abubakar’s current political standing, suggesting that he needed to clarify his party affiliation before talking about rebuilding the PDP.

“It is necessary for Atiku to first come clear as to which party he belongs now because PDP has not formed a coalition with any political party,” he said.

He added that the former vice-president’s repeated bids for the presidency under different platforms had remained the PDP’s “major albatross”.