Igbokwe had posted that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, who lost the presidential ticket of the opposition party to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar met with the ruling party Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in France.
Joe Igbokwe has deleted a post he made claiming that Governor Nyesom Wike visited Bola Tinubu in France.
Igbokwe, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, pulled down the Facebook post on Thursday.
Igbokwe had posted that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, who lost the presidential ticket of the opposition party to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar met with the ruling party Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in France.
Some Social Media users had dismissed Igbokwe’s claim and demanded pictorial evidence.
However, moments after Igbokwe’s post went viral, it was no longer found on his page.
Tinubu had departed for France after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday morning.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Igbokwe claimed that Wike visited Tinubu in France.
“While they are on social media abusing everybody, Governor Wike goes to France to meet Asiwaju. Abuse, calling names, hate, and bigotry are no strategy. They hated and abused PMB (President Muhammadu Buhari) since 2015 and now they have transferred the aggression to Asiwaju. We wait and see,” he wrote.
Since losing the presidential ticket to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, Wike has not openly shown support for him.
Atiku had given the Vice-Presidential slot a shot but Atiku overlooked him and settled for Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta.
Some PDP stakeholders had recommended Wike as Atiku’s running mate but the PDP Presidential Candidate stood his ground.
The development had degenerated into a full-blown disagreement among party leaders with some calling for the ouster of the national chairman of the party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu.
Indication emerged that all was not well in the party which led to only two out of the 13 PDP governors being present when the National Working Committee (NWC) inaugurated the Osun governorship campaign council on Wednesday.
Former Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State in a tweet on Wednesday demanded power shift to the South, saying it would be unfair for a Northerner to step into office after Buhari’s eight years.
Hours before Fayose’s tweet, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State had said Wike would have been a better running mate to Okowa.
He also said he was still praying and fasting to know if God wanted him to support Atiku or not.
Commenting on the PDP crisis earlier on Thursday, Atiku had said efforts were bring made to resolve grievances of party members.
“The Peoples Democratic Party will remain united. Focus on our actions. We are taking action to address the feelings of all party members. The unity in our community is my priority. Our resolve to unify Nigeria starts in our party and moves to the community, then on to society.”
“Every Governor, Legislator, and other elected officials produced by our party, and party members and loyalists, are much loved and respected by me. When they speak, I listen. I do not only listen. Appropriate actions have been taken, are being taken, and will continue to be advanced.”