Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has said he feels vindicated for refusing to select the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, as his running mate during the 2023 presidential election.

Reacting to Wike’s latest remarks, Atiku accused the former Rivers State governor of working against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election after losing the presidential primary and failing to secure the vice-presidential ticket.

Speaking through his media aide, Paul Ibe, Atiku told Daily Sun on Tuesday night that Wike has no moral ground to talk about him.

During his monthly media parley on Monday, Wike had criticised Atiku’s frequent movement across political parties since 1999. The minister, who also mocked Atiku for defecting from the PDP to the African Democratic Congress ahead of the 2027 elections, said, “If I were his son, I would have counselled him against jumping from one party to another. He is only pushing for a coalition because he knows he cannot secure the PDP presidential ticket.”

Atiku’s camp fired back, insisting that Wike’s alliance with the ruling APC during the 2023 polls sabotaged the PDP’s chances and confirmed that the former vice president made the right decision by not choosing him as running mate.

He said, “As things stand now, nobody will ever take him seriously. We don’t take Wike seriously. We will not be under the same room with someone like him who is sleeping and having a dagger behind him. What can you say about a man who publicly say at the Velodrome of the MKO Abiola Stadium venue of the convention where the PDP primaries was held; a man who spoke to delegates and said to the whole world that anybody that emerged as the candidate of the party, he will work with the person.

“In tandem with his own commitment, nobody compelled him, forced him to make that public declaration, we expected that he would have kept to his word to work with whoever emerged, but he did not do that. And what did he do? He went into bed with the APC and was able to conscript others to work with him against his own party.

“What qualifies him to speak about Atiku Abubakar, knowing fully well that what he did in 2023 was unprecedented in the history of politics and political parties, for a governor of a state, a leader to openly work against his party and ragged about it.

“Why? Because he fell short of winning the PDP presidential ticket and also he wanted to be the vice presidential candidate and he didn’t get that. And because of that, Wike has worked with Tinubu’s APC to pull down the roof of the PDP. He did that in 2023, he is still doing it. And he has continued on the same template. We will not be in the same covering with someone like him. A man who sleeps with people with a dagger hidden behind his back. Wike is not qualified to be casting aspersions on the person of Atiku Abubakar.

“We have been vindicated for not choosing him as presidential running mate. He doesn’t exhibit, he doesn’t manifest, he doesn’t carry himself in a way that suggests that he would have fitted into that (VP) office.”