I didn’t reject Wike, only picked who can deliver – Atiku

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has insisted that he didn’t reject the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.

Atiku said this while reacting to the controversy surrounding the choice of his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, and why he did not pick Wike.

Speaking in an interview with Arise TV on Friday morning, Atiku said he only picked who he felt could deliver among the nominees that were presented to him.

He 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 was talking to the governor.

“We are reaching out to Wike and talking to him, very soon, we will resolve our internal crises.

“I have contested this presidency a couple of times and I don’t try to blame anybody, I accept the outcome or go to court,” Atiku added.