2023: Atiku practising ‘politricks,’ not politics – Bode George

A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Board of Trustees, Chief Bode George, has accused the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, of dumping the tenet of politics in his move to win the 2023 presidential election.

George, who is a former deputy national chairman of the party, said this on Channels Television’s political programme, Sunday Politics.

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He said the way Atiku and his group were going about the issues in the party could be referred to as “politricks”.

The PDP chieftain was reacting to the fracas between the group loyal to the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike and the camp of the party’s presidential candidate.

While declaring his support for Wike on the ground of striving for equity in the PDP, he said Atiku was not dealing with the issue raised by the Rivers State governor’s group appropriately.

He said, “Politics is defined as the management of the resources of the land for the benefit of the people and the management of crisis that will alleviate their sufferings. Anything out of this premise is called politricks.

“I want to plead with those who are managing the campaign [of Atiku Abubakar] and thinking that you can ostracise a sizeable percentage of Nigerians, but remember you need their votes. You need their commitment because whoever wins this election will not be managing just one zone of the country. He will be managing the entirety of Nigeria.

“And if at this starting point, you show no regard for them, you show no regard for their needs, you show no regard for their concerns, I call it politricks and not politics. A politician should be able to address every nook and cranny of the country, convince all the tribes no matter how minor they are, that you will be a nationalist leader.”

George, a former military administrator in Ondo State, said a politician should be able to convince the electorate to trust him, adding that this can only be achieved with the antecedents of the candidate.

He warned that it is now impossible for any politician to rig elections in Nigeria with the introduction of new technologies by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

He added, “So, it’s not business as usual. You can not discountenance anybody. And that seems to be what is driving our party [PDP]. I want to appeal, we still have a little bit of window, they have been campaigning deceiving themselves that ‘we have the crowd here, we don’t need them’.

“Nigerians are watching. If we card-carrying members can not resolve our problems within this little ambit, how would the larger Nigerians trust us that we will be able to manage the myriad of problems besieging our nation?”

Governor Wike and his group have been calling for the resignation of the chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, saying the position must go to the South to balance the sharing of power within the party.