Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike on Tuesday said Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) because of his presidential ambition in 2023.
Mr Umahi had said he left the PDP because of the party’s injustice against his south-east zone.
Wike, however, said in a statement by his media aide Kelvin Ebiri that the claim was untrue.
He accused Umahi of being unfair to the PDP which gave him the governorship ticket in 2015 and again in 2019.
“Committed members of PDP were not surprised that Governor Umahi on Tuesday formally defected to the APC, which he has for a while been fraternising with,” Wike said.
“My friend, Umahi, wants to be president. There is no problem about that.
“You have a right to be President. Nobody can stop you. You are educated. You have been a governor for two terms, so you are qualified to say I want to be president of Nigeria.
“But that does not mean that because you want to blackmail your party, and tell lies to the people you are leaving the party because of the injustice meted against the South-east; that is not correct.”
Wike demanded that Umahi should retract the statement that the PDP has been unfair to the south-east.
