Atiku had no choice but to quit PDP... he couldn’t use it for his ambition —Wike

Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), says former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar had no option but to leave thePeoples Democratic Party (PDP). On July 14, Abubakar resigned from the PDP, saying the partyhas strayed from its founding ideals and is bogged down by “irreconcilabledifferences”. Speaking on ‘Politics Today’, a Channels Televisionprogramme on Monday, Wike said Abubakar’s exit from the opposition party wasinevitable because he could not use the PDP for his personal ambition. “Atiku has no choice but to leave because he wanted to usethe PDP, but knowing that I’m there, he cannot get that platform,” the FCTminister said. He also accused the former vice-president and otherdefectors of weakening the party. “Those are people who destroyed the party,” he said, adding,“How many times has he left PDP and returned?” ‘DIRI SHOULD THANK ME FOR OPENING HIS EYES’ Wike also took aim at Douye Diri, governor of Bayelsa, whoformally defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday. “Diri has said he has left PDP, and I’m one of the happiestpersons today,” he said. “The same him and Makinde said they would not allow anybodyto destroy the PDP and fall to the gutter. Who has entered the gutter today?” Wike accused Diri of hypocrisy, saying he once brandedothers “undertakers” trying to bury the PDP but has now joined the APC. “If I heard what he said, he claimed that some people cameinto the party as undertakers,” Wike said. “I didn’t just come into the party; I have been a bona fidemember since 1998.” The minister recounted his political journey, noting that hebegan his career as a local government chairman and later served as governor ofRivers for eight years. “When Diri was in PDP, he was one of those who said I wasworking for APC to destroy PDP,” Wike said. “He was the chairman of the zoning committee of the party.” The former Rivers governor also said Diri should be gratefulfor his defection. “If he were to say I am working with APC, Diri should cometo me and say, ‘Thank you, master,’” Wike said. “He should pay me and say, ‘Thank you for opening my eyes tosee the light,’ if he were true.” Wike said his record of loyalty to the PDP remainsunquestionable despite the party’s internal wrangling. “When I was a governor under Buhari, everything was done tokill PDP, but I said no way—I fought,” he said. “Leadership is key to everything you are doing. Everybodywants to make excuses. The man they claimed is killing PDP is still in thePDP.”

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