The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council accused Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, of killing democracy in the state and country by hounding people who disagreed with his views.
A spokesman for the council, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, who is the Delta State Commissioner for Information, slammed Wike for criticizing Atiku’s meeting with Rivers leaders in Abuja, blaming him for making it impossible for the party to hold its presidential campaign in the state.
He stated, “Wike is quarrelling on why we are meeting the people of the Rivers State outside the state and claiming that those persons are not Rivers people.”
“We met with critical stakeholders in Rivers, who we believe would be able to talk to their people for them to understand that Atiku and his running mate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, value them.
“Wike made it practically impossible for us to come to Rivers to campaign, and because we do believe that if we want to come to Rivers to campaign, given Wike’s position, he could take steps that would undermine the survival of a number of persons, which we are not ready to do, because we are very clear that our ambition is not worth the life of anybody, no matter how lowly placed that person may be.
“But we do know that our people in Rivers are very clear on the fact that Atiku means well.”
“If Wike, rather than adding value to the human resources in Rivers, continues to deploy its resources to insult every well-meaning Nigerian who has disagreed with him, Atiku is not going to take that path.
“By the grace of God, we will embark on the process of recovery, developing all parts of this country and making every Nigerian, including our brothers in the Rivers, feel they are Nigerians.”
Aniagwu urged Wike to stop fighting people with opposing views, insisting that his action constitutes a threat to the country’s democracy.
He added: “Wike is asking his people to vote for a candidate who will protect him and not a candidate who will add value to the lives of the people of Rivers.”
“I want Wike to be assured that Atiku and Okowa are in this election because of the need to address the many challenges confronting our country.”
