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By John Alechenu, Abuja

One of the spokesmen of the Atiku Campaign Organisation, Mr Daniel Bwala, has said the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, should accept the bulk of the blame for frustrating the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP’s efforts to micro-zone its presidential ticket to the South-East.

Bwala said this in an interview on a Channels Television Political Programme, monitored in Abuja, yesterday.

Bwala said, “The whole gamut of power zoning here or there started with Governor Wike. He virtually had everything he wanted. He brought this chairman (Ayu). When a discussion was being done in the party that power should be zoned, I recall very well, Atiku was inclined that it should be zoned to either South-East or North-East – these are the two geo-political zones that have not benefited.

“Then, he (Wike) said if it was ever zoned to the South-East, he was not going to run. The movement then was that it should be micro-zoned to the South-East – among stakeholders from the region. He (Wike) frustrated it because he was interested.”
According to Bwala, this move led to the departure of the Labour Party, LP, Presidential candidate, Peter Obi, from the main opposition party.

The Atiku campaign spokesperson further said: “He (Wike) influenced the emergence of leaders that sat in committees – whether committees for party positions or elective office. At his behest, a recommendation was made that it (presidential ticket) should be thrown open evidently because he is not from the South-East. That led to the departure of Peter Obi. If the zoning thing was followed, Peter Obi or probably the former SGF (Anyim Pius Anyim) would have emerged as the presidential candidate of the party. “

Bwala added that despite internal strife within the PDP, Atiku’s quest to “unify” Nigeria won’t change, if elected as president.

“The last politician I can look at and say he is discriminatory is Atiku Abubakar,” he maintained.