By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Publisher of Ovation Magazine and notable international journalist, Dele Momodu, has explained how the stance of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, on zoning in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), allegedly frustrated Peter Obi out of the party.
Momodu, who is also a chieftain of the PDP, spoke during an interview on Arise Television on Wednesday.
He maintained that Wike was the reason Obi dumped the PDP for the Labour Party, in the buildup to the 2023 general elections, where he eventually emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.
Momodu explained that ahead of the 2023 election, Atiku wanted the PDP to cede power to the Southeast rather than rotating it within a few regions.
The publisher implied that Wike could have benefited from Atiku’s suggestion if he had not dissociated himself from the Southeast region.
According to Momodu, Wike disqualified himself by saying he was not an Igbo man. He added that the former Governor of Rivers State declared that he was not interested in any Igbo agenda.
Since the PDP was considering zoning its presidential ticket to the Southeast, Momodu alleged that Wike subsequently frustrated Obi out of the party to emerge as the party’s presidential candidate.
Momodu said, “It was the same Wike people complaining about north-south that brought the committee through our party primary open. That’s why I was able to buy a form. I bought a form because, at that time, Atiku had told them that if they ceded power to the southeast, then it would make sense to him, but if it would still be a rotation between just a few zones, he would not support it. He wanted them to cede power to the southeast. But because Wike had already disqualified himself by saying he’s not an Igbo man, he said he’s from south-south, he’s not interested in Igbo anything, so he succeeded in frustrating Peter Obi out of the party. So, the coast was clear for Nyesom Wike.”
The PDP chieftain further explained that the opposition party did not have a zoning problem until Wike and his allies within the party started using it to push a north-south agenda for the party’s presidential ticket.
