Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Barr. Nyesom Wike, has insisted that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar lied by claiming that he selected the former Governor of Delta State, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate in the 2023 presidential election based on the report of the committee set up by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to select its vice presidential candidate.
Olayinka, who reiterated that the FCT Minister was never keen on being Atiku’s running mate due to the “enormous baggage” he carries, stated that Wike had no regrets about working against Atiku in the 2023 presidential election. He described the statement issued by the media office of the two-time PDP presidential candidate as face-saving and “an attempt to use further lies to defend Atiku’s previous lies.”
In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, Olayinka said, “The report of the committee was released to set the records straight, and this has made Atiku and his team confess that, in selecting his running mate, he (Atiku) did not follow the report of the committee set up by the PDP. He simply picked who he wanted, not who the party wanted.
“By saying that ‘there were no laid down rules or laws on the selection process of a running mate. Committees, consultations, and recommendations are advisory in nature. The final decision rests solely and exclusively with the presidential candidate, in this case, Atiku Abubakar. It is a constitutional and strategic choice, not a popularity contest.’ Atiku’s Media Office has confirmed that their principal actually lied and never had any regard for the PDP as a party.
“It therefore gladdens our hearts that we have been able to establish that Atiku lied and that he is not a man to be trusted. That he chose to lie during the Holy Month of Ramadan is, however, between him and Allah (Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala).
“As for his choice of running mate in 2019 and 2023, it is our position that Atiku, as the PDP candidate, had the right to make whatever choice he deemed fit. However, he should be honest enough to defend his choice and accept the consequences, rather than misrepresenting facts to justify the choice he made.
“It is also worth reiterating that, just as Atiku, the loser in the election, has said he has no regrets over the choice he made, Wike too has no regrets over his own choice.
“Therefore, no one is harbouring any personal ill-feeling against Atiku for failing with the choice he made, and no one should harbour ill-feeling against Wike for succeeding with the choice he made.
“Also, as for us, no ego is bruised, and there is no bitterness either. It is simply a clear case of us making our choice and you making yours. But more than two years later, you are now trying to defend your own choice of failure with lies.
“On the PDP and the task of rebuilding it, it is necessary for Atiku to first clarify which party he belongs to now, because the PDP has not formed a coalition with any political party. Most importantly, his penchant for seeking to contest the presidential election under any available party has remained the PDP’s major albatross.”
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