Atiku Breaks Silence on Choosing Another Running Mate Over Wike in 2023

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has explained why he did not choose Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as his running mate in the 2023 presidential election.

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) made the clarification in an interview for the television show Untold Stories with Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie, which is set to be aired today.

Atiku’s decision was widely seen as a turning point in the internal crisis that later divided the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Wike, who was then the governor of Rivers State, led a group of five PDP governors known as the G5 in opposition to Atiku’s candidacy. The group refused to support him, insisting that the party’s leadership structure was unfair. 

During the election, Wike openly worked against Atiku, claiming he helped deliver Rivers State to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Many political analysts believe this contributed to Atiku’s loss at the polls. 

However, Atiku said he had no regrets about not choosing Wike. 

“No, not at all,” he said. 

Atiku explained that his decision was based on a consultative process involving the PDP leadership. He recalled that in 2019, when he picked Peter Obi as his running mate, he was accused of not consulting widely enough. 

“In 2019, when I won the ticket in Port Harcourt, I came back here and then went straight to Abeokuta to meet my boss, President Obasanjo, and told him, ‘Mr. President, I have got the ticket.’ So he asked me, he said, ‘Okay, from where is your running mate going to come from?’ I said, of course, it’s either South-east or South-west. He said, ‘No, leave South-west because I was there for eight years. Go to the South-east.’ I said, ‘Okay, sir.’” 

Atiku said Obasanjo first suggested Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the current Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), but he pointed out that she was not a member of the PDP. Obasanjo then suggested Charles Soludo, but Atiku gave the same reason. 

“And he said, ‘What about Peter Obi?’ I said Peter Obi is a member of the party. So that was it. So I came back here in this very same building, very same room, and it was a morning meeting of the party leaders—Uche Secondus and others, including Wike himself and Tambuwal. I remember there were about seven of them. I said, ‘Look, I have been to my boss, and this is what he said. Do you have any objection? You are leaders of the party and also leaders of the governors’ forum.’” 

Atiku said they all agreed to the decision, but after the election, some party members accused him of not consulting widely. 

“They said I did not consult with the party enough. So in 2023, I threw the whole thing to the party. I said, ‘Okay, set up a committee and recommend three people for me to pick as running mate.’” 

The committee recommended three names: then-Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as the first choice, Wike as the second, and then-Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel as the third. 

“So I picked number one,” Atiku said, explaining that Wike was simply not the first choice on the list.