Just hours after it was reported that he had met with APC presidential contender Bola Tinubu in France, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike posted a photo of himself in Turkey with the comment, “Thankful for a fine evening.”
The former vice president Atiku Abubakar defeated Wike for the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. Wike is reportedly engaged in a protracted conflict with his party as a result of losing the vice presidential nomination to Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa.
Joe Igbokwe, a top APC official in Lagos, alleged in a Facebook post on Thursday that Wike and Tinubu held a meeting in France.
“While they are on social media abusing everybody, Governor Wike goes to France to meet Asiwaju. Abuse, calling names, hate, and bigotry are no strategy. They have hated and abused PMB (President Muhammadu Buhari) since 2015 and have now transferred the aggression to Asiwaju. We wait and see,” he had written in a now-deleted post.
After Igbokwe’s post was taken down, Wike merely shared a photo of himself in Turkey on his Twitter account with the comment “Thankful for a fine evening.”
After meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday morning at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Tinubu had earlier departed for France.
Wike published photos of himself and his Abia counterpart, Okezie Ikpeazu, on holiday in Turkey a few hours after Tinubu left the country.
The PDP’s internal crisis had developed as a result of Atiku’s selection of Okowa.
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, one of Wike’s allies and friends, stated on Tuesday that he was still fasting and praying to see if God intended him to endorse Atiku or not.
InsightnaijaTV reported that Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti State, indicated that he will give his support for Southern presidency or nothing, which was an indication that he would not be supporting Atiku for the presidency.