Professor Itse Sagay SAN, (Watch Video here) the head of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, claims that those who accuse Nyesom Wike of lacking sportsmanship and being angry over losing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential nomination are unfairly criticizing him (PACAC). Rivers State is led by Wike as governor. (Watch Video here)
Wike's concern with some party stakeholders was that he was duped, particularly by people he had helped in the past, according to Sagay in a conversation with the reporter. (Watch Video here)
Sagay singled out Aminu Tambuwal, the governor of Sokoto state, (Watch Video here) who, after withdrawing from the 2023 presidential primary despite Wike's backing for his 2019 candidacy, asked delegates to vote for Atiku Abubakar. (Watch Video here)
"I don't think it's fair to critique Wike's behavior by stating he lacks sportsmanship since he won't acknowledge defeat after losing the presidential primary," he said. Some have advised him to accept his loss and move on because the election was free and fair. Those who make such claim are not treating the man fairly at all. I'd like to use this opportunity to assess the circumstance for the good of all parties.
"Aminu Tambuwal received cash from (Watch Video here) Wike in 2019 so that he could challenge Atiku Abubakar. Without Wike's support, Tambuwal would not have had the opportunity to run for office. At the time, Wike fully backed Tambuwal and contributed financing for his campaign. Even after Tambuwal's primary setback had already taken place, Wike was unhappy with it. (Watch Video here)
"When it came time for Wike to run for president in the PDP in 2022, (Watch Video here) the same Tambuwal that Wike had backed in 2019 suddenly teamed up with Atiku to block his efforts. On the day of the presidential primary, Tambuwal declared his withdrawal from the race and urged all of his supporters to support Atiku in its place. (Watch Video here)
They still gave him permission to return after he had spoken to the delegates and reassure them that Atiku should get their support. Although we may never know the result, perhaps Tambuwal's and other people's actions prevented Atiku from winning. That, in my opinion, is treason. (Watch Video here)
Another issue is that Wike came in second place to Atiku in the presidential primaries by a very narrow margin. The party now asserts that he would make a wonderful running mate for Atiku because of his popularity and support from delegates from all around the country. (Watch Video here)