Following some rather controversial statements made by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has said that the party owes Nigerians an explanation and an apology.
Atiku had on Sunday in Kaduna stated that the north does not need Yoruba or Igbo candidates when it comes to the presidency, stressing that the only candidate worthy of the seat is him alone.
He said, “I know the whole of this country. I have built bridges across this country. I think what the average northerner needs are somebody who is from the north, who also understands the other parts of Nigeria, and who has been able to build bridges across the rest of the country.
“This is what the northerner needs. He (the northerner) doesn’t need a Yoruba candidate or an Igbo candidate. This is what the northerner needs. I stand before you as a pan-Nigerian of northern origin”.
In his reaction to the comments which have generated heated arguments across the country, Governor Wike said while he doubts the possibility of Atiku making such a sensational statement at this critical time of the Nation’s history, adding that such posture would justify his fight for equity, justice and fairness in the PDP.
He noted that the party must urgently address the issue and appeal to Nigerians lest the people stop rallying behind the PDP and begin to see the party as one where justice and equity do not abound.
Governor Wike also challenged the National Chairman of the Party, Iyorchia Ayu on his defence of the corruption allegations he levelled against him and condemned as ridiculous, the recommendations of the party’s Board of Trustees on the crisis in the PDP.
