By Ovie Okpare
A 19-man committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) saddled with the responsibility of selecting the running mate to the PDP Presidential Candidate for the 2023 general elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has picked the Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, as its preferred choice.
Wike came second in the presidential primary of the PDP after securing 237 votes against Atiku who polled 371 votes.
NIGER DELTA TODAY authoritatively learnt that Wike was picked and recommended to Atiku and the national leadership of the party after series of meetings and lobbying on Tuesday.
It was gathered that majority of the committee members were not in support of the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, whose name had prominently future as likable running mate to Atiku.
One of the sources confirmed to our correspondent that after series of disagreements over the choice of Atiku’s running mate, the matter was put to vote.
The Committee which had earlier penciled down over 10 names as possible running mate narrowed in on Governors Wike (Rivers), Okowa (Delta) and Emmanuel Udom (Akwa Ibom).
When the matter was, however, put to vote, it was gathered that Governor Wike polled 16 votes to defeat Governor Okowa who had 3 votes.
Udom was said to have scored zero vote during the members’ voting.
Wike’s name was subsequently forwarded to PDP national chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, for onward submission to Atiku for final decision.
It was further learnt that Atiku on Tuesday evening received outcome of the Committee’s report and now ready to announce his choice as running mate.
With the development, Okowa’s ambition of becoming Atiku’s running mate might have hit the rock.
It was gathered that Wike was ranked top based on his popularity and acceptability to leaders and members of the opposition ruling party especially as the party is determined to dislodge the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from Aso Rock in 2023.
NIGER DELTA TODAY also learnt that the seeming disagreement among leaders of the party over the outcome of the PDP primaries from Delta State worked against Okowa’s choice.
One of the sources said the governors of the South-South except Bayelsa State governor, Douye Diri, also kicked against the nomination of Okowa.
Similarly, leaders of the party from the South-East were also said to have protested the choice of Okowa for being the first governor to have reportedly abandoned the fight for the presidential ticket of the party to be zoned to south.
