Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, yesterday, took a swipe against those accusing him and Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State of frustrating micro-zoning of the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the southeast.

Wike said he had always believed and supported effort towards ensuring the presidency is zoned to the south. He spoke at Itu Bridge Head, venue of the flag-off of Akpabu-Odido Road in Emohua Local Council.

According to him, “I was one of those who led the campaign that the party’s chairmanship should go to the north because I believed the presidency should go to the south.

“I attended meetings of southern governors of the APC, PDP and other parties from Delta to Lagos to Enugu states, where we agreed that the presidency should come to the south.”

Wike insisted that while southern cross-party consultations were going on, there were people in the PDP bent on frustrating eventual zoning of the party’s presidential ticket to the south.

Such people, he said, cannot now turn around, deceitfully, to cast blame on him and Ortom, with a view to hiding their scheme.

“I woke up this morning and read where they said, ‘How Wike and Ortom frustrated PDP’s micro-zoning of presidential ticket to southeast’. That was what the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku, said.

“I keep saying they will be contradicting themselves, telling lies up and down, thinking that Nigerians don’t know. How can they say that I influenced Ortom, told him to allow and throw the ticket open?” Wike asked.

He said further: “Nigerians know those who are opposed to zoning of the party’s chairmanship first. And when the zoning committee was set up, this time, Atiku had gone to buy form, to frustrate the recommendation of the zoning committee.”

The Rivers State governor urged the presidential candidate of the PDP to leave him out of challenges he is facing in the party. According to him, a bad product is always difficult to sell; otherwise, Obasanjo would have recommended Atiku to Nigerians, having worked together with him.