The heat of the altercations between Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and the former Vice-President and Presidential flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar went up a notch over the weekend.
Wike had on Friday mocked Atiku stating that he was drinking a 40-year-old whiskey while watching him and members of his party on television as they protested at the INEC headquarters in Abuja against the alleged electoral fraud of February 25.
In his words, “As they were protesting, I just sat down and took a 40-year whisky. I called some of my friends and opened the 40-year-old whisky as they were protesting,”
The Atiku camp apparently tired of enduring the tantrums of the governor through his Special Assistant on Public Communication, Mr. Phrank Shaibu came down hard on Sunday in a statement filled with anger, venom, and disdain against the governor.
“Governor Wike has confirmed what we all know. That he is a drunkard. The protest that was led by Waziri Atiku Abubakar on Monday, March 6, 2023, was against the stealing of the mandate of the Nigerian people, which in itself was a noble cause.
“For the sake of clarity, the protest occurred around 11.30am.
Governor Wike says he was drinking whisky during the protest at11.30am on a Monday.This reveals the sort of man he is–a dipsomaniac who abandons his official duties on Monday morning to binge on whisky.
Likening the voice of the governor to that of a motor park tout,Atiku said the drinking habit was responsible for his hoarse voice and wondered why even being married to a judge, who are reputed for sobriety, did not rub off on him.
“This explains the reason for his hoarse voice, which is similar to that of a motor park tout. It is obvious that Governor Wike also dances under the influence of alcohol. No wonder it is characterised by aesthetic vulgarity. “It is a common rule that you do not drink and drive. Unfortunately, a drunkard is the one steering the wheel of governance in Rivers State. This is more disturbing because he is married to a judge. Indeed, the term, as sober as a judge, could not even rub off positively on the cantankerous governor.”
He rubbished Wike’s claims and posturing that he was against Atiku’s candidacy on the grounds of zoning, adding that he was just unable to recover from the defeat handed him by the Wazirin Adamawa Atiku Abubakar.
“Wike’s grouse with Waziri Atiku Abubakar has nothing to do with zoning. He is only wailing because he lost the presidential ticket of the PDP in a fair contest. After losing, he deceived four other governors to join his futile campaign.
He derided the governor and his G5 group, three of whom had already lost their senatorial bids with the fate of one of them hanging in the balance as the governorship elections approaches.
“Three governors of the G5 failed woefully at their senatorial elections, including Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, who, as a sitting governor, came a distant third in the Abia South senatorial election.
For Governor Seyi Makinde, his ambition is hanging by a thread after his misadventure cost the PDP to lose all three senatorial elections.
“Wike has not held a single meeting with his G5 members, having dumped them since their defeat. He has been rejoicing over the outcome of the polls even though his men have all lost. This is the sort of man he is, and yet he claims not to be committing anti-party infractions.”
While condemning Wike for admitting on video to have manipulated the outcome of the elections in his state in the last election, Atiku hailed the over 250,000 Nigerians who had signed a petition on Change.org asking for a visa ban to be slammed on him.
He also referred to him as an emperor while listing some of his excesses.
“At this point, I would love to commend the nearly 300,000 Nigerians who have signed the petition for Wike’s visa sanction. This is a step in the right direction. This is a man who in every election he has ever been involved in has been characterised by rigging and violence so much so that under his watch, the media tagged his state, ‘Rivers of Blood’.
“This is a man who, during a leaked phone conversation with Governor Ayodele Fayose, admitted to ‘killing everyone we can kill’.
This is a man who talks down on traditional rulers in his state, arrests those he doesn’t agree with, seals off the buildings of his opponents and even revokes C of O of those in his bad books. May Nigeria never see such an emperor again who uses violence to subdue his people for political gains.”