Former governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido, has stated that Nyesom Wike has no monopoly over the Rivers electorate as he would become politically relevant at the end of his tenure.
Lamido’s statement comes amid the deepening crisis in the PDP between the Presidential flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar and Wike.
Atiku in an interview revealed his reasons for not picking Wike as his running mate, as he opted for Delta state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, whom he described as a credible vice presidential candidate who had the potential of succeeding him.
Speaking on Channels flagship show, Politics Today on Tuesday, Lamido dismissed the current impasse between the feuding members as a minute affair.
“We should forget about Wike”. was his response on the Rivers state governor’s level of importance in swaying voters decisions in the state.
“Wike is an individual, I don’t think because he is a governor there he has control and monopoly over the peoples of Rivers,” he said.
“Right now, if you go to Rivers, there were 13 governorship aspirants for the governorship candidate in Rivers State, it was Wike who imposed the current candidate.”
The 73-year-old statesman declared that Wike’s political relevance will wane in the coming months.
“The others are there complaining and screaming. I saw him on TV talking the other day, he was very bombastic. He was saying that he would not allow this and that.”
“In the next eight months, he will become a political destitute like me.”
He also added that “Wike is an individual. I don’t think because he is a governor, then he has the monopoly and control over Rivers. He does not have it. He is always speaking because he is a bluff. The people of Rivers State are in PDP in their own right.
“Because he is now a governor, he can appropriate sovereignty and become an emperor because he is a governor. It cannot work. There is a Wike in every part of the country. Leave Wike alone, he can give order to Rivers people if they are enslaved to him. If they are his slave— fair enough, he is their emperor, let him give orders.”
