Former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido has described a reconciliation committee set up to resolve the differences between the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike as mere well-wishers.
Wike lost the presidential primary election of the party to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who emerged as the presidential candidate of the party for the 2023 election. The crisis in the PDP deepened after Atiku shunned Wike and picked the Delta State governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate.
Lamido during an interview on Channels TV on Tuesday said the party had not set up any committee because the party did not offend anyone.
"Get this straight, they are people who are well-wishers, who want to make sure there's peace in PDP. They are not there for PDP or for anybody else; they are simply there for Atiku as a person, not as a candidate of the party.
"They are not there because of PDP. Similarly, Wike is a PDP man; he can't say I want to reconcile, reconcile with who, who offended who? How?” the governor asked.
He said Wike is trying to claim for himself the power of an "Emperor", adding that he has no monopoly or control over the people of Rivers state because of his position as the governor of the state.
"Wike is an individual and I don't think because he's a governor, he has total monopoly and control over Rivers; he hasn't got it. He's only speaking because he's just bluffing.
“Rivers people are people who are already in PDP, they are alright. They were there in 1999 when he joined, they were there when he was the council chairman so they have been there with him, not simply because he's their governor.”
Lamido said, “Go to Akwa Ibom, there's a governor there. Go to any other state, there is a Wike in every part of Nigeria who are governors."
The former governor added that Wike should be left alone to do whatever he wants as he cannot control the people of Rivers because they are not his slaves.
He continued, "Please, leave Wike alone; he has the right to do whatever he wants, he can give order on. If people in rivers are enslaved, they are his own slaves; therefore, he can control them. Fair enough, he's their emperor.
"There are 13 candidates for the Rivers state governorship election and it was Wike who imposed his own candidate and nobody questioned that. They were just screaming and complaining but he said no. I saw him on TV when he was talking because he was too bombastic – ‘I will not allow this, I will not allow this’. Which one will you not allow? This country called Nigeria is not for individual.
"In the next eight months, Wike is going to be the same political destitute like me, a former governor.”