Trouble for Atiku as Wike's strong ally finally reveals presidential candidate Rivers PDP will vote for

Hon. Samuel Nwanosike, the chairman of Ikwerre local government area, has said the Rivers state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has made up its mind to dump the party's presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar.

According to Daily Sun, Nwanosike who is a strong ally of the Rivers state governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, said the Rivers PDP has pitched its tent with the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Daily Sun quoted Nwanosike as saying that the elders and opinion leaders in Rivers state have decided to dump Atiku and work for Tinubu.

The PDP chieftain said the decision was taken because of what he described as “unfairness and political imbalance” he claimed Atiku was propagating. He said the PDP national leadership has been taken over by men who specialised in manipulating the process to achieve their personal interests.

According to him, it was clearly stated that when the PDP presidential candidate emerges from the North, the national chairman of the party should come from the South and vice versa.

PDP crisis and the G5 Governors

The PDP is heading into the 2023 general elections with a divided house as five of its governors, now known as the G5, have withdrawn their support for Atiku.

The aggrieved PDP governors led by Wike demanded Iyorchi Ayu's resignation as the national chairman for a southerner to take over but their demand was turned down.

Following their decision not to back Atiku until their demand is met, there have been speculations that the G5 Governors will back Tinubu or the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.