Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party Atiku Abubakar says he should be given the benefit of doubt for his choice of a running mate.
Some governors in the PDP, including Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, are unhappy with his decision to pick Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, not Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike as running mate.
Reacting to this in an interview with Arise TV aired on Friday, Atiku said he chose who he felt could deliver among the nominees that were presented to him.
Atiku said, “I didn’t reject Wike, I picked who can deliver. Wike is brilliant and tenacious. Going by history, I picked an Igbo as running mate in 2007, in 2019. I still picked an Igbo as running mate for 2023.
“The committee that presented the three nominees was chaired by the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom. They recommended three people, so I picked one. People should be fair to me and state the facts.”
On the possibility of resolving issues with Wike, Atiku said the party is discussing with the Rivers governor who wields a lot of power in the party.
“We are reaching out to Wike and we are talking with him and I believe very soon we will find a reconciliation. In fact, very soon, because we are talking to him.
“We are talking to his governor colleagues. I am very optimistic we are going to resolve our internal crisis and move on,” he said.
