Despite pledging to do so in January 2023, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has yet to reveal his chosen presidential candidate.
Wike, along with four other disgruntled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors known as the G5, had previously stated that they would not back the party’s presidential nominee, Atiku Abubakar.
The Rivers State Governor announced in December 2022 that he will publicly proclaim his chosen presidential candidate in January 2023 and campaign for him across the country.
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“From January next year, I will campaign to my people whom they will vote for.
“So, all of you who have been in suspense, who have been saying all kinds of things, abusing me, wait. January is here.
“Not only will I tell them (my people) whom to vote, I will move from state to state (for campaigns), and why they should vote for the person, nothing will happen,” he had said when he commissioned the tenth flyover by his administration in the Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers.
However, as January came to an end, the controversial governor failed to uphold his pledge to reveal his presidential candidate.
A member of the PDP National Working Committee (NWC) told the Daily Independent on Tuesday that Governor Wike is aware that openly supporting a candidate other than Atiku may result in his suspension by the PDP national leadership because it equates to anti-party activities.
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The source, who pleaded anonymity, said: “Wike and his allies are being careful that if they launch out by announcing a presidential candidate, the party’s hammer may fall on them.
“The party is supreme, and if they announce any other presidential candidate, they will be suspended. Forget all what Wike is saying, he is not bigger than the party. He is just one individual and can be sanctioned.
“Just like the party did recently with respect to Ekiti PDP, aside suspending the governors, they can also suspend the candidates they are backing for Senate, House of Representatives.
“When Wike made the statement, he never took it into cognizance that he can be suspended based on the constitutional provisions of the party. However, a member of the NWC granted an interview recently where he quoted from the PDP constitution that if they announce a presidential candidate aside the party’s flagbearer, they may be sanctioned.
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“The truth there is nothing Wike can do if he is sanctioned. The best he can do is to go and challenge it in court and nobody knows where the litigation will end. By the end of the matter, the election would have been over and he and his candidates may lose out.”
According to news reports, Nigerians were hoping that Governor Wike will officially declare his support for either the All Progressives Congress Presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, or Labour Party Presidential contender, Peter Obi.
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