"Aliyu believes it was around that period when they were rumored to be fighting the PDP. I would absolutely flog him. I would absolutely flog him here. 25 May 2021: Governor Nyesom Wike.
Former Niger State governor Babangida Aliyu. From 2007 to 2015, he held the position.
Among the seven PDP governors that vowed to leave the party in 2013, he was one of them. Except for Amaechi, who had problems with Jonathan and the wife, they were all from the north. They opposed GEJ serving a second term in office in 2015. As Yar'Adua passed away three years into his term in government, they claimed it was time for the north to finish its turn.
In the end, 5 of the governors resigned. Only two lingered back. Sule Lamido of Jigawa and Babangida Aliyu, also known as the Chief Servant of Niger State, remained behind and worked against Jonathan and the PDP. They ensured that the PDP lost in their regions despite being serving PDP governors.
A fiercely honest man, Governor Wike frequently peppers his candor with insults. He is incapable of using diplomacy or concealing his emotions.
He has been open and honest with those like Aliyu, Lamido, and others about their 2015 betrayal of the party.
In the heat of the argument between Wike and Secondus, Aliyu had referred to Wike as a godfather and a tyrant for trying to oust Secondus as National Chair. In response, the governor of Rivers claimed Aliyu was a PDP mole, a recurring liar, and a frequent betrayer. He really threatened to flog the former "top servant" of Niger State.
Then came Wike's desire to become president. Lamido and Aliyu worked to make Atiku the PDP nominee. They were among the northern politicians who persuaded Governor Aminu Tambuwal to resign and turn over his delegates to Atiku. A brilliant move that ultimately defeated Wike in the presidential primary.
After losing to Atiku on May 28, Wike once more expressed interest in the vice president position. To advise Atiku and the PDP on the best candidate or candidates to fill the position, an advisory council was established.
Wike received the support of the vast majority of the committee members. Okowa received three. Among those who handed Okowa the three votes he received were committee members Babangida Aliyu and Sule Lamido.
The National Working Committee received the committee's suggestion that Wike be the party's best candidate for the vice presidential position. Wike was given preference over two other governors who were given equal consideration when the NWC voted in favor of the recommendation.
By that advice, Wike was a few hours away from Atiku formally announcing her as her running partner.
On the same day that the NWC approved the committee's report, Aliyu and Lamido, along with the National Chairman - Ayu and other northern forces, promptly instructed Atiku to disregard the advice and continue forward with his original selection of Okowa.
The former PDP governors' chairman is Aliyu. a significant portion of the party's formidable bloc.
Wike is feared by Aliyu and his family. He has traits similar to those of Kim Jung-un of North Korea and President Trump.
They made a number of accusations against Wike. They are concerned regarding the VAT complaint Wike filed against the FG. They claim that VAT collection will be based in the states if Wike wins the legal battle and goes on to become president or vice president. IGR is not very high in the northern states. If Wike is successful, the northern states would receive little federal funding, and their IGRs will not advance them. As a result, the north will become poor.
He has been labeled as anti-North. According to them, he destroyed a mosque in Rivers State. But in the midst of the accusations in 2019, numerous northern authorities, including governors, had traveled to PH and discovered that the alert was actually a ploy by Asari Dokubo, a former militant leader who is also a Muslim and has a vendetta against Wike.
Wike, according to Aliyu and other northern leaders, declared Rivers State to be a Christian State and hence despises Muslims. They contend that Atiku's chances of garnering additional support in the north will be harmed by being included on the united ticket.
They don't want the Yar'Adua/GEJ scenario to happen again. In case something happens to Atiku, they want a deputy they can control. And in Okowa, they obtained the ideal lackey.
They are aware that Wike does not try to appease the north like GEJ did. If Wike were to become president, either as president or vice president, they believe it would not be business as usual for the north.
Atiku ultimately decided to follow his northern brothers' suggestion. rejected the advice provided by a number of party organs. he disregarded the majority of the governors' recommendations that Wike be his best hope for winning the election. Wike had the support of governors such as Makinde, Ortom, and Ugwuanyi.
Wike got 16 votes from the committee members while Okowa got 3. But Atiku’s mathematics textbook says 3 is greater than 16. After all, is it not in this same country that some (PDP) governors said that 16 is greater than 19?
But this is the same Atiku who said that Buhari finished second in the 2019 election but was announced winner by INEC. So, what moral justification does he have to have cried blue murder back then if he doesn’t respect a simple democratic process in the choice of running mate? The adhoc advisory committee was just a comouflage. He thought Okowa would come out tops so it would paint a picture that he consulted widely unlike 2019 where he unilaterally picked Peter Obi to the chagrin of South East governors and stakeholders.
He announced Okowa as his deputy. Most governors stayed away from the event. Only Udom, Bala and Obaseki attended.
Atiku had entered into an agreement with the Delta governor months before the primary. The Delta man gave Atiku his delegates and equally pumped in money for Atiku to get the ticket.
Revenge is best served cold. Aliyu and other northern elements whom Wike had “insulted” got their pound of flesh.
Wike has lost twice consecutively. He lost at the presidential primary. He lost his bid to become Atiku’s running mate.
In politics, and life generally, you win some and lose some. Wike has had his way several times in the party. He installed Amodu Sherif who plagued the party for years. He also brought his kinsman Uche Secondus whom he also hounded out of office as National Chair.
Against the wishes of some senior members of the party, he ensured that the PDP 2018 Special National Convention was held in his state capital - PH. He wanted to install his now estranged friend, Governor Tambuwal as the presidential candidate of the party for the 2019 election. His friend lost to Atiku because some retired army generals intervened and ask that Atiku should be made candidate.
You may not be a fan of Wike because of his combative, garrulous and combustible approach to things but he was the South’s best bet to stemming the nauseating overbearance of the north. He would have done that as President. Even as Vice to Atiku, his hands would not have been tied like Osinbajo or GEJ. He wouldn’t see any anti-south agenda and turn a blind eye because he wants to look good in the eyes of the northern oligarchs.
The north won in the game plan because the south was divided. Wike has made enemies both in south and north. His political enemies from both regions connived and defeated him in his most recent battles.
Wike is quite some character. Not many in their right senses would chose to work with him. But the Atiku/Okowa ticket is drab.
Atiku employed the winner takes it all approach. He emerged presidential candidate and still picked his running mate from his camp. Politics is a game of compromise. Even if he didn’t pick Wike, he would have sought his input for an alternative. Remember the Attah/Akpabio episode in 2007 when Attah was asked to nominate a deputy. This was done to carry all factions along and head into the election with a united front.
The aim would have been to win the election first with a popular VP before devising means of “taming” him. As an incumbent, Atiku would have been in a vantage position to drop a VP and go for another one he is comfortable working with. In his second term, Akpabio dropped Ekpotu whom Attah nominated and took Nsima whom he had preferred in 2007.
To get the votes of the Christian-dominated southern Kaduna people, Governor El-Rufai ran on a Muslim-Christian ticket in 2015 but he dropped the Christian deputy and flew with a Muslim running on mate in his second term. He had the luxury of doing that because he was an incumbent. Oyo governor, Seyi Makinde recently dropped his deputy from the second term ticket.
A Muslim-Muslim ticket in Nigeria is very unideal but Tinubu will go for it because that is the APC’s best bet to winning in 2023. If Tinubu wins, he may decide to go for a Christian deputy when he vies for second term.
The scenarios maybe slightly different but the above mentioned governors/candidates went for pragmatism over convenience as a means of getting into power.
Wike cannot be wished away in the politics of PDP. Atiku needs Wike more than Wike needs Atiku. This is ATIKU’s last shot at the presidency and definitely his last. I don’t think Wike will defect from PDP. If he is not properly pacified, Wike may employ the pattern Aliyu and co used in 2015. That is, staying back in the party and sabotaging Atiku. He may cut a deal with the APC so as to avoid being hounded by EFCC post-2023.
By picking Okowa ahead of Wike who would have given him political mileage especially down south and made the joint ticket exciting, Atiku made a tough but convenient call. But it will be a long walk to 2023 for him.
© IbomInkNews
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