Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has explained why he did not choose former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.

Atiku, who contested under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, made this known in an interview for a television show, Untold Stories, with Adesuwa Giwa-Osagie. The interview is scheduled for broadcast today, Wednesday.

During the conversation, he recalled how some party leaders criticized him for not widely consulting before selecting Peter Obi as his running mate in the 2019 election. To avoid a similar situation, he said he decided to let the party take the lead in choosing his 2023 running mate.

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“I threw the whole thing to the party. I said, ‘Okay, set up a committee and recommend three people for me to pick as a running mate,’” He stated.

The committee eventually presented a list with three names: Ifeanyi Okowa as the first choice, Nyesom Wike as the second, and Udom Emmanuel as the third. Atiku said he simply picked Okowa because he was the top recommendation on the list.

Despite Wike’s strong influence within the PDP, He maintained that he had no regrets about his decision. When asked whether he felt otherwise about not choosing Wike, he responded firmly, “No, not at all.”

Crediblenewsng.com