A former presidential candidate, Dele Momodu, has alleged that Nyesom Wike, a former presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, paid $30,000 to each delegate during the party’s 2022 presidential primary.
Wike, the former Governor of Rivers State, was defeated by Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the primary election, a contest that plunged the main opposition party into prolonged internal turmoil.
Following his defeat, Wike rejected the outcome of the election and went on to work against the PDP’s interests, ultimately supporting the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, in the 2023 general election.
Dele Momodu, who has consistently criticised Wike’s conduct following the primary, was himself a participant in the race. He has remained vocal about what he perceives as Wike’s destabilising role within the party.
Momodu, the publisher of Ovation magazine, told Channels Television on Monday that a former President had advised him against contesting the PDP presidential primary, citing Wike’s financial influence.
“A former president of Nigeria sent someone to tell me not to waste my money on the PDP 2022 primaries because Wike had raised the stakes to $30K per delegate. $30K multiplied by 774 delegates,” the former presidential candidate said.
In a significant development, Atiku Abubakar, along with several other PDP stalwarts, recently announced their defection from the party to the African Democratic Congress, ADC.
