Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has reacted to the actions of Peter Obi, former Anambra Governor, and presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who recently dumped the party.
Mr. Obi had in a statement on Wednesday, exited the PDP, stating that the recent developments within the party made “it practically impossible for him to continue participating and making constructive contributions.”
The former governor’s decision has, however, been greeted with mixed reactions, as some chieftains of the party resigned in Anambra State, including Valentine Ozigbo, a frontline candidate of the PDP in the State’s 2021 gubernatorial election.
In his reaction, Governor Wike, who was featured as a guest on Channels TV’s Politics Today, said Peter Obi’s resignation did not come as a surprise.
He noted that Mr Obi knew there was no way he would have clinched the presidential ticket of the party because he lacked integrity.
According to Wike, “Peter Obi leaving the party is not surprising to me. He knows that there is no way he would have won the presidential primaries. Forget about what Doyin Okuope said about sharing money.
“How can someone who has gone to almost all the states telling them about how he is a trader and how he wore one shoe and did not allow people to carry his bag leave a party three days to the primaries?
Wike, who is also a presidential aspirant of the PDP, said no level of the problem should have made the former Anambra governor leave the party.
“Those of us that joined this party since 1998, we’ve never left the party. If it’s this party, it’s in our blood. It doesn’t matter what problems we have in the party, we have to be inside it to settle the problems.”
On Obi’s meeting with the former governor of Kano, Rabiu Kwankaso, leader of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) Wike wondered if Obi would now become a vice-presidential candidate for Kwankaso.
“From what I read on social media, he wants to join NNPP, but Kwakwaso wants to be president. So, does he want to be Vice President? This is what I am saying, in everything you do, integrity and character are very important. You can be the best economist but you don’t have character.”
