The governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has revealed that he suggested a unity ticket with the then Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State as the vice-presidential candidate to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for the 2023 polls, but the idea was thrown out by Atiku’s inner circle.
He made this statement while speaking on Channels Tv’s Politics Today. The Oyo State Governor disclosed that he approached Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State to suggest the idea of Wike’s inclusion in a bid to strengthen the party’s chances in the 2023 presidential election. This statement recounts what transpired in the People’s Democratic Party during the preparation for the 2023 election.
Makinde said that his proposal was rooted in the need to heal the post-primary divisions within the party and show a united front to the people. He stated:
“After the convention, I went straight to Fintiri and said, let’s make this a unity ticket; get Wike on. It would have been a stronger ticket, but unfortunately, all the people around our candidate rejected it.”
Makinde lamented that the refusal to take Wike, who came second in the presidential primary and had significant support within, widened the internal rifts. He also noted that the rift contributed to the challenges the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faced during the general election.
Also, he pointed out how the party’ top positions were only centered in the North. Seyi further revealed that the chairman of the party, Senator Ayu, was from North central, the party’s presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku, was from the North East, and though it hadn’t been made public as of after the PDP’s convention, but the party intended to make Senator Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State the DG of the presidential campaign. This, according to Seyi Makinde, would make it difficult to sell the ticket to the entire country, hence the reason for his suggestion.
For him, with wike on the ticket, it would have been a stronger ticket to face the APC. He further noted that even after Atiku’s circle rejected the suggestion, Seyi Makinde noted that, “we met with him (Atiku) in London, he rejected it. He came back from London and said we’ve moved on. I mean all these children, where were they when we were forming PDP? And we have seen the result now”
At the PDP meeting in Bauchi State, Makinde stated that having noted that they don’t want a repeat of the past and don’t want to dwell in it either, Makinde suggested that the slates be wiped clean. He pointed out that a similar situation happened in 2015 and repeated itself in 2023. He then suggested that it was time for the party to pull back and try another strategy.
Further, he asserted that PDP should have still remained in power at the Federal level, but some persons whose name he didn’t mention “walked out to Eagle’s Square.” He was referring to the protest led by some Wike’s supporters, which took place at the Eagle’s Square during the PDP’s National convention on May 28, 29, 2022.
Finally, in a bid to instill hope, he asserted that the populace still look up to PDP as their saviour and are still willing to support them. All they need to do is to go home and rebuild their party and come out better than they did two elections ago.
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