Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are exerting increased pressure on Nyesom Wike of Rivers State to end his campaign to have Senator Iyorchia Ayu, the party’s national chairman, quit.
According to sources, the governors are pressing for Atiku Abubakar and Wike’s reunion before the start of the campaigns on September 28.
CID Maduabum, the director-general of the PDP Governors’ Forum, stated that Atiku would call for a meeting of the 13-member group, which last convened on June 8 in Abuja.
Additionally, it was discovered over the weekend that Ayodele Fayose, the former governor of Ekiti State, had agreed to represent Atiku to Wike.
A party source said: “The quest for the PDP presidential to ticket by some of them, which was a legitimate aspiration, was the source of all these reactions and a chain of disruptive events that we have witnessed immediately after the presidential primaries”.
The majority of the governors have agreed in principle to participate, therefore the source expressed optimism that the governors will be successful in calling the conference.
Maduabum, who confirmed the proposed meeting, said: “Yes, I can confirm to you that moves are being made in that direction and consultations are ongoing to ensure its fruition. We are positive that this will be achieved in a matter of days”.
The failure of Atiku and Ayu to act responsibly and timely in response to the post-presidential primary turmoil has been attributed to them by many party leaders.
The party chairman, according to the source, exacerbated the problem with recent comments he made against the governors, referring to them as youngsters who weren’t around when the PDP was created.
He said: “The national chairman did not help matters with some of his statements because these are the same governors who stood firmly by the party during turbulent times in the past.
“The PDP would have been smothered in the grip of Ali Modu Sheriff as national chairman way back in 2016. It took the bold initiative by the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and a few of his colleagues to rescue the PDP from Sheriff’s suffocating grip.
“Most of the people who have taken over the party today, were either in the APC where they went to seek greener pasture, or they simply stood by and watched the degenerating situation from their comfort zones.
“The credit of rescuing the PDP and bringing it back to national reckoning once again, should go mainly to Governor Wike and some of his colleagues who fought the battle up to the Supreme Court to rescue the PDP from the clutches of political hyenas.
“Although Wike too may have his own faults and excesses with his unguarded statements, he has done more good for the PDP than harm. He was at the battle front during the crisis that threatened the very existence of the PDP at the time.”
Another party elder who also criticized the party chairman’s part in the crisis recalled how the crisis has threatened the previously amicable relationship between Wike and Mr. Samuel Ortom, governor of Benue State.
Prior to the party’s national convention in October 2021, the source claims that Wike offered Ortom complete freedom to propose a candidate from the Northcentral zone as national chairman.
According to the source, the former Senate President David Mark had been first selected for the role by zone stakeholders, and the decision was ready to be finalized until Ortom suggested Ayu.
He added: “On three occasions, Governor Ortom made personal visits to Mark to plead for his understanding. Mark, who is not given to such mundane struggles, took things calmly and withdrew from the race.
“Ortom also visited Saraki to get his endorsement. Saraki’s initial objection to Ayu’s nomination at the time was not personal. He didn’t want any candidate from his Northcentral zone to become chairman because of his presidential aspiration then. But Ortom was able to get him to support Ayu in the end.”
The source further narrated how Ayu’s disposition after he became chairman almost strained the relationship between Wike and Ortom, with the Rivers Governor voicing his suspicions about Ortom’s complicity in the chairman’s growing antagonism.
“At a point, Governor Wike actually confronted Ortom at a location in Abuja, accusing him of conspiring with Ayu to sabotage him. Wike was visibly angry at his friend, accusing the Benue Governor of having betrayed him.
“It took the intervention of former Information Minister, Prof Jerry Gana; a former Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang; and a former Attorney General, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke to pacify Wike during that encounter. Although the two governors are still friends, it’s doubtful if they still enjoy the mutual confidentiality they used to share”, the source said.
One of Wike’s PDP-aligned governors, Governor Ortom, has joined other interested parties in efforts to ensure that the problem is resolved through communication.
According to the governor, the PDP still has a potential to reform itself and win the 2023 presidential election despite the crisis.
The PDP leadership was also held accountable by Ortom for failing to use the party’s existing dispute resolution process to settle the quarrel between Atiku and Wike before it worsened.
