Wike Seals Atiku Campaign Office Over “Violation Of Executive Order”

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate for president, Atiku Abubakar, has closed his campaign office in the state of Rivers.

The Port Harcourt, the state’s capital, office was sealed on Friday.

Following a court ruling, the state administration decided to seal the office.

Wike’s spokesperson Kelvin Ebiri confirmed the news and said that a state executive order in force forbids the establishment of campaign headquarters in residential areas.

“The place should be sealed up,” Ebiri said. “The Rivers state government approached a court, which ordered that be done.”

A political campaign headquarters cannot be located in a residential neighborhood, according to Rivers State Executive Order 22. The court issued the order to block off the area.

Friday’s development is the latest in a cycle of controversies involving Abubakar and Wike, a governor elected on the platform of the party.

There has been crisis in the PDP amid calls for the removal of Iyorchia Ayu, the PDP national chairman.

Although he is still a member of the PDP, the governor has, in recent months, been seen in the company of candidates from other parties.

In October, he alleged that Abubakar constituted the PDP presidential campaign council in Rivers “without a whole (sic) governor of a state having a contribution”.

Speaking on Thursday at the inauguration of a flyover in Obi-Akpor LGA, Wike said he will announce his preferred presidential candidate in January and mobilise people “from state to state” for the candidate.

“From January next year, I will campaign to my people who they will vote for. So, all of you who have been suspects and have been saying all kinds of things and abusing me, wait. January has come,” he said.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, he had warned politicians against flouting the executive order in the state.