Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja, disclosed his plans to leave Nigeria in the event that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar became victorious in the 2023 presidential election.
The former Rivers State Governor from 2015 to 2023 claimed to be aware of schemes being developed against him since he supported President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC and refused to support Atiku in the PDP.
According to The Whistler, the minister made the allegation during a media chat on Tuesday in Abuja.
His words: “In 2007 when we went to Supreme Court for Amaechi, I put my international passport in my bag and I told my wife (that) if we lose this today, I’m travelling out.
“Under Atiku, I knew the plot against me, immediately Atiku wins, how they were going to come after me. This, of course, police would no longer take instructions because a new president has emerged.”
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As governor of Rivers State, Wike oversaw the group of five PDP governors known as the “Integrity Group,” which strongly opposed Atiku’s candidature.
The governors’ objection stemmed from their belief that, following eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration from the north, the presidency ought to rotate from the north to the south.
The G5 governors actively pushed for Tinubu and Peter Obi of the Labour Party and refused to back Atiku as the PDP’s presidential nominee.
As a condition of Atiku’s attempts to make peace with the rebel governors, they wanted the resignation of Iyorchia Ayu, the PDP chairman at the time. They claimed that because Ayu and Atiku were both from the North, the party’s top leadership was not inclusive.
Atiku ultimately lost the election to President Tinubu due largely to the formidable opposition of the G5 governors.
