The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi says his visit to Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State was for the duo to discuss vital national issues.
Obi visited the former presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at his private residence in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
While details of the meeting were sketchy, the former Anambra State Governor, hours later, took to his official Twitter handle to give a hint on why he visited Wike.
“Earlier today, I visited Port Harcourt, to confer with H.E. @GovWike on vital issues of national interest,” Obi’s tweet, shared alongside photos of him and the Rivers leader, read.
Obi was not the only person who visited Wike on that day. Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State was also in Port Harcourt but details about the meeting were not disclosed.
Observers have linked the meetings to the 2023 elections. Wike lost the PDP presidential ticket to Atiku Abubakar and in the aftermath of the election, accused southern governors of betrayal, claiming that he could have scuttled the exercise if not for his love for the PDP.
“I have never seen how people can violate procedures and guidelines. Somebody has spoken, it is at that point he was speaking that he would have said I am withdrawing. You don’t call him back,” Wike said. “I just said, ‘Look, this our party must not be destroyed.’”
While Wike was among three persons in consideration as Atiku’s running mate, weeks after the primary, the former vice president snubbed him. The Waziri Adama, instead, nominated Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.
The move, is, however, believed to have caused friction between Atiku and Wike with the former reportedly making attempts to mend the relationship.