‘Sitting governor who won election with 300 votes’ — Wike aims dig at Tambuwal

Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, in what appears to be a dig at Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto, has criticised the latter over his electoral value.

He spoke on Monday at a reception organised in his honour following his outing at the just-concluded PDP presidential primary.

The Sokoto governor had, in his address at the convention on Saturday, announced his withdrawal from contesting the presidency, and asked his supporters to back former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar.

Abubakar later won the primary with 371 votes, with Wike coming second with 237 votes.

Iyorchia Ayu, PDP national chairman, had also praised the Sokoto governor and described him as the “hero” of the convention.

Speaking on the happenings at the convention, Wike made a veiled reference to Tambuwal’s slim margin of victory during the 2019 general election.

The Sokoto governor had narrowly secured a second term in office with a margin of 342 votes.

In his address on Monday, Wike said some persons in the party had nothing much to offer in terms of votes.

“We have done our best and and the whole world has seen that we have done our best. If I wanted to scuttle this convention, I would have done that. And I told them,” he said.

“There are people you think are human beings but they are not. As far as I am concerned, [there is] conspiracy. I have told everybody — go and bring your own vote. Sokoto, Zamfara, Niger bring your votes. It’s not about the north. We have come to the point of bring your votes, so that people can win election.

“I’ve never seen how people can violate procedure. Somebody I have spoken with and it is at that point he was speaking that he can say ‘I am withdrawing’. He now turned it back. I just said ‘look, this our party must not be destroyed.’

“I would have left where I was sitting and said ‘no this convention cannot hold except you allow me to talk’, and I would have flattened that who says he is a human being. When you see a sitting governor who won election with 300 votes, which vote will he give?

“So, it is God’s will. Whatever they are thinking may not be what will happen.”

He, however, thanked his supporters for their efforts, adding that his result at the primary showed that Rivers should not be “underrated”.

“I just want to thank you for your support, commitment, everything. You have shown the world that Rivers is one and our interest must be protected all the time. They underrate us, but now, they will not underrate us again. We have all it takes to do whatever we want to do,” he said.