A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Bode George, has revealed the reason for his fallout with former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, whom he supported to spite his party's candidate, Atiku Abubakar, in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election.

George, a PDP Board of Trustees member, disclosed this while reacting to the persistent crisis in the main opposition party in an interview on Arise News on Friday, January 31, 2025.

The Lagos-based politician, who linked the unresolved crisis in the PDP to the fallout of the party's national convention in 2022, said he temporarily supported Wike and his group's opposition to Atiku.

George explained that his support for Wike and Co. was influenced by the zoning of the party's top positions—presidential candidate and national chairmanship—to the northern region.

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He accused the ousted National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu and Atiku, of disrupting the party's zoning arrangement, which birthed the ongoing crisis.

“The Presidential candidate went to the northern zone, and the party's chairman also went to the same zone; we said no, it can’t happen like this. That was the basis of the party’s crisis. I didn’t just jump ship to be with Wike or Atiku; I had meetings with both of them and Ayu; they disrupted the system,” he said.

George failed to persuade Atiku and Ayu

However, George said he had attempted to persuade Atiku and Ayu to reason with him, but they declined, after which he decided to join forces with Wike.

The elder statesman further stated that his alliance with Wike grew out of his disgust with Atiku and Ayu's conduct at the convection.

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Meanwhile, George said he parted ways with the now-Federal Capital Territory Minister and his group when he realised they wanted to support Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate.

“And when Wike people came, we had a meeting, and they made me a leader. In the end, we had two presidential candidates from the south who said they believed that Bola was the better person. I told them that if they stepped out of this meeting and discussed it outside, I would counter you. You guys have no idea who this gentleman is. He had ruled my state, and we know his modus operandi,” he concluded.