Former Senator and gubernatorial aspirant in Kogi State, Dino Melaye, has said that Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, supported him with hundreds thousands of dollars when he first ran for governorship.

He said that gesture showed that Wike believed in his ability and wondered what had changed between then and now.

Melaye and Wike have recently been at loggerheads after Wike said Melaye did not have what it takes to be a governor.

Responding to Wike’s remark during a chat with Arise TV, Melaye said, “When I ran for governorship in 2019, Governor Wike was my biggest sponsor. He was my biggest supporter. He spent hundreds of thousands of dollars. He supported my primary election.

“He did not just support my primary; he provided his private jet to drop me in Kogi in Obajana Street on the day of my primary. And he was calling me every minute to find out ‘Where are we, have we succeeded?’ Meaning that he saw something in me in 2019 when he supported me.

“He knew I was a gubernatorial material. He knew I was fit to be governor. Hence, his investment or support as the case may be. So what now happened between 2019 and 2023 that he’s now saying that I’m not fit to be a governor?” he added.

Melaye also said Wike called him 19 times in two hours lobbying him to influence the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar to pick him as the vice-presidential candidate in the last general elections.

He said, “Wike will come and tell you integrity, integrity, but that integrity, justice and fairness that he’s always clamouring, he doesn’t possess one per cent of it. He will come and tell you he wants a southern presidency and that’s why he’s fighting. But that is a bogus lie. Wike wanted to be the vice-presidential candidate to Atiku.

“Wike called me 19 times in two hours when Atiku was going to announce his vice presidential candidate, lobbying me with everything possible to influence Atiku to announce him as the vice-presidential candidate. I have witnesses. I even gave the phone to Senator Abdul Ningi who was with me and he lobbied him too. He also spoke to Senator Uzamere.

“His people were calling me back to back. In fact he went to the airport, and he called me just waiting for me to say Atiku has agreed.

“At about 1am that day, I called and told him that ‘my brother, e no go happen o,’ and that’s when he got annoyed,” he added. (Daily Trust)

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