Following the visit by the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, in his private residence on Thursday in Abuja, the disgruntled governors of the Peoples Democratic Party convened on Sunday in Enugu to discuss their future course of action.
Governors Wike, Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and the host, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, were present.
Three days ago, Atiku met privately with Wike to ask for his support in the run-up to the 2023 presidential election.
As part of his ongoing efforts to end the simmering conflict between him and the five PDP governors led by Wike, the PDP standard bearer met with the governor of Rivers.
The Abuja meeting, however, came to a standstill because the Rivers governor reportedly maintained that a peace agreement couldn’t be reached until Iyorchia Ayu, the party’s national chairman, resigned from his position.
Since the party’s presidential primary in May, it has been in a state of turmoil.
Wike, who was defeated by Atiku, had complained about the process, claiming that the PDP had treated him unfairly and that he had not been supported.
Wike maintained that Ayu must quit if his side were to reach an understanding with the party’s front-runner, but Atiku claimed that he lacked the authority to have the chairman dismissed.
According to Atiku, the party’s charter must be respected if the chairman must be ousted.
Wike and several of his colleagues and sympathizers skipped the party’s presidential campaign council’s inauguration last Wednesday in Abuja after numerous meetings with their representatives failed to resolve the dispute.
Prof. Jerry Gana, former governors Ayo Fayose, Jonah Jang, Donald Duke, and Olusegun Mimiko, and others skipped the event as well. Chief Olabode George, a former deputy national chairman of the party, was also not present.
The governor reinforced his demand to the former vice president, telling him there was no turning back on his demand that Ayu must go, according to Senator Olaka Wogu, one of Wike’s close supporters who was privy to what was discussed at the Abuja meeting.
He said that Atiku and Wike’s discussion came to a standstill when the governor insisted on his demands.
Unverified rumors stated that Atiku pledged to back Wike for president in 2027. Later, Atiku’s campaign spokespeople refuted this.
Findings on Sunday, however, showed that the five disgruntled governors of the party, led by Wike, convened in Enugu, the capital of Enugu State, for a strategy meeting in order to continue their resolve to oust the PDP national chairman from office.
A member of the PDP National Working Committee confided in The PUNCH that the governors’ meeting’s main purpose was to develop strategies for improving the party and, by extension, Nigeria.
Findings on Sunday, however, showed that the five disgruntled governors of the party, led by Wike, convened in Enugu, the capital of Enugu State, for a strategy meeting in order to continue their resolve to oust the PDP national chairman from office.
A member of the PDP National Working Committee confided in The PUNCH that the governors’ meeting’s main purpose was to develop strategies for improving the party and, by extension, Nigeria.
“The big five governors are meeting, strategising for a better PDP, a better Nigeria where probity, equity and justice reign supreme,” he said.
Pressed to disclose the specific agenda of the meeting, the NWC member who is one of those who recently refunded N28.8m into the party’s account stated, “They are united for a purpose to ensure Ayu is sacked for the unity of our party,” insisting, “Ayu must go.”
The governors, he noted, deserved special praise for championing the cause of justice and equity, not only for the PDP but for Nigeria as a whole.
“A leader on his own said he was going to quit if a northerner emerged as the PDP’s flag bearer. A northerner emerged but he did not want to go. It is a pity that some have chosen to shut up but these ones (governors) are insisting on the right thing to be done; we have to congratulate them.
“PDP is for all. No one, however powerful, owns it more than others. This is the message they are trying to pass. We will get there,” he maintained.
Also, a frontline member of the aggrieved governors’ camp, who also confirmed the meeting, revealed that they met to review the conditions given to Atiku during his meeting with Wike in Abuja on Thursday.
“The meeting in Enugu is to review Atiku’s visit to the Rivers governor in Abuja. They had told him at the meeting that Ayu must go and that the condition is not negotiable. They also gave him some other conditions.
“Atiku agreed that Ayu would go but due process must be followed to avoid a constitutional crisis. So, the aggrieved governors are meeting to fashion out plans for Ayu’s exit and also review some of the conditions they gave to Atiku. They will also look at some of the things Atiku said at the meeting with Wike,’’ he explained
