Rivers state governor Nyesom Wike has thrown his weight behind Atiku Abubakar, the presidential flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who defeated him at the party’s primary elections.

Mr Abubakar clinched the PDP presidential ticket on Saturday after he polled 371 votes against Mr Wike’s 237 votes.

“I made a vow to the PDP that i will support whoever emerges from the #PDPPresidentialPrimaries and i am not going to go back on my word,” tweeted Mr Wike on Monday evening.

“We cannot abandon the @OfficialPDPNig, we will be fully supporting H.E @atiku,” the Rivers state governor added.

The statement has put to rest speculations that Mr Wike, aggrieved by the outcome of the primaries, may defect to another political party to further his presidential aspiration.

The Rivers state governor openly declared his support for Mr Abubakar after the latter paid him a visit at his residence in Asokoro, Abuja. 

The former vice president had emphasised the need for every member of PDP to work together to unseat the APC, charging aggrieved party members to put the convention’s events behind them in order to achieve this goal.

Responding to Mr Abubakar’s charge, Mr Wike vowed to stick by his word and support whoever wins the ticket.

The Rivers governor, who described himself as a party man, said he will continue to support and remain loyal to the party, and urged the party’s candidate to learn from his 2019 defeat.

Mr Wike who polled the second highest votes, was said to have had a good chance of winning the primary if Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, had not withdrawn at the last minute.