The Presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has challenged Rivers State governor to test his popularity in Rivers State by winning his polling unit for the Candidate of the ruling party Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Special Assistant, Public Communication to Atiku Abubakar, Phrank Shaibu in a statement on Tuesday, described Wike as a “Chicken hiding under the costume of a Lion.
The statement was in reaction to the rumour the the Rivers state governor has finally pitched his tent with the APC candidate.
He said that Wike is too cowardly to come out openly to sell the candidacy of All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Tinubu adding that he cannot win his polling unit for the candidate of the ruling party.
According to Atiku, “Wike could not deliver his polling unit at unit 7, ward 9 in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers State.
He said, “Even the dead know that the APC can never win in Rivers State. Wike cannot deliver his polling unit to Tinubu. He is aware of this and that is why he is not bold enough to come out with his full chest to ask the people of the state to vote for Bola Tinubu. Rather, he is chasing shadows, making innuendos.
“At least Rotimi Amaechi was man enough to dump the PDP and defect to the APC in 2015 and openly campaigned for President Muhammadu Buhari against his kinsman, President Goodluck Jonathan. This is what real men do when they have the conviction. Wike said he would announce his preferred candidate in January 2023. Three weeks have since passed but he is not man enough to do so.”
Shaibu said Wike was a con man who, on the surface, presents a façade of courage but is actually a lily-livered and small minded person hence his resort to the judiciary to protect him from being expelled from the PDP.
“Wike said if the PDP leadership had the balls, they should expel him. After making this statement, he quickly ran to a court to secure a kangaroo order barring the PDP from suspending or expelling him. This is a chicken hiding under the costume of a lion,” he said.
Atiku’s aide said Wike’s only strategy was to give some miscreants money to foment violence on the day of election in order to suppress the voter turnout and mitigate Tinubu’s loss.
“Even during the 2019 election, Rivers State witnessed the highest incidents of violence. This time again, Rivers has witnessed more violence than terror-ravaged communities in Somalia. There was even a bomb explosion at an APC rally where Mr. Tonye Cole accused Wike of being the mastermind. It is obvious that Wike, who talks like a bus conductor, is willing to bring the state to its knees.”
Atiku’s aide called on the Nigeria Police Force, the military and other agencies of government to give special attention to Rivers State by deploying additional boots on the ground that will boost the security of Rivers State during and after elections.
Shaibu described as balderdash Wike’s claim that he was working for the fairness and the unity of Nigeria.
He said Wike’s grouse with the PDP has nothing to do with zoning or justice but the weeping of a “full grown baby throwing tantrums after failing to secure his party’s ticket.”
Atiku’s aide said if Wike truly believed in fairness in politics, he would not have contested for governorship in 2015.
Shaibu added, “Rivers State has about 26 ethnic groups. Amaechi, an Ikwere man, served eight years as governor. There had been clamours for him to be succeeded by someone from the riverine community but Wike, who is also Ikwere, insisted on succeeding Amaechi, arguing that he was the only one strong enough to defeat him.
Continuing, Shaibu said that Wike should be ashamed that after he had openly denigrated the APC has a cancerous political party, which he can never be part of, “is the same Wike, who is not only embracing the cancer called APC timidly but also promoting the candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu.
