Atiku not offended by Wike's outbursts - Dino Melaye

A 8th National Assembly senator and spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar campaign organization, Dino Melaye, shares his thoughts with FRIDAY OLOKOR on the crisis within People's Democracy Party and other issues

It seems that the crisis within the Peoples Democratic Party has lasted too long. What are your fears for the PDP ahead of the 2023 general election?

I want to start by correcting the misconception that you and many others have that there is a crisis in the PDP. I mean without fear that there is no crisis anywhere. What we have is disagreement, and disagreement is allowed in politics. As I said on Channels Television, democracy is loud and it is normal for noise to be made, but the truth is that the PDP is a strong, reliable and indivisible political party. Disagreements are normal; after every primary election, it is expected that there will be a disagreement and what happens is normal. But if you're talking specifically about Governor Wike, I want to assure you that we are aware of the situation and that reconciliation is underway. We have gone very far on this. We have made tremendous progress. Wike is actually a distinguished member of our party. He is a strong pillar of our party and I can assure you that he will work and support the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar and the PDP.

But many people think his recent romance with other political parties, especially the All Progressives Congress, has been a nightmare for the PDP. What do you think of that?

Why don't you think that way that Wike is on democratic evangelism and even trying to woo these people for the benefit of the PDP? Why don't you see it that way?

But the political romance and pilgrimages don't seem timely in the context of what's really happening after the PDP's presidential primary. What's your comment on this?

I would rather say it's timely because he needs them to support the PDP to win the election and now is the time to do it and you are not aware of the talks that Wike has had with the APC members he invites. I always stress that Wike is working for the PDP and inviting these people to Rivers State is also part of his effort to win more souls for the PDP as Wike did not go to the state of Lagos, the Governor of Lagos State came to Wike, and I think you should start looking at the problem from that angle.

Back to the primary elections; vote buying, not only in the PDP, even in other political parties, is a serious problem. Don't you think using money in primaries can lead to electing the wrong people?

To begin with, I would like to say that it is very wrong to monetize our political process, whether at the level of primary elections or general elections. But I want to tell you that in the end, the money didn't give anything, because those who spent more didn't even win. This is to tell you that Nigerians are now politically aware. Nigerians know exactly what is good for them; they collected money from many people and did not work for those people. Thus, money did not dictate the final outcome of the PDP's presidential primary election. I don't know about the APC, but for the PDP, money was not a determining factor, because those who spent outrageously did not win in the end. So you can't say that the money influenced the final outcome of the PDP presidential primary election, because people were adamant and determined to vote for whoever they wanted to vote for.

During the primary, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State resigned over Atiku Abubakar, a development that caused many to portray him as a traitor to his friend, Wike . What's your opinion on this?

To begin with, I don't think Tambuwal is an employee of Governor Wike. They are friends. Thus, the question of the traitor or not of the traitor does not arise. I don't think there was an agreement between them. If there was an agreement, they would not run for the same position. I also think that Tambuwal put national interest above personal interest. It was in his personal interest to become President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the PDP. But he saw someone who he believes has more experience, more ability and will give Nigerians more democracy dividends than himself and he chose to align himself with the national interest and has abandoned self-interest.

Why didn't he go get his friend instead of his brother?

This is not correct. If you know Tambuwal, you will know that...