Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, fresh pressure is mounting on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to review his earlier position on the face-off between him and Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and four other governors elected on the platform of the party.
Wike and his Oyo State counterpart, Seyi Makinde, as well as Governors Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu are all at loggerheads with Atiku and the party’s hierarchy over their insistence that Senator Iyorcia Ayu, the National Chairman of the PDP, should vacate his position for a southerner to replace him.
Atiku had objected to the call, saying it is not a good time to change the leadership of the party.
Last weekend, feelers from the Atiku camp indicated that the presidential candidate has mapped out new strategies with which he intends to triumph in the states where the aforementioned governors hold sway as the chief executives. This was after the PDP presidential candidate announced that he had moved on beyond his face-off with the governors as he was focused on winning the 2023 presidential election.
But fresh indications suggest that Atiku has come under more pressure from chieftains of the party who feel the need for him to reconcile with the aggrieved governors ahead of the next presidential election in the interest of the opposition party.
The Nation gathered that some chieftains of the party intensified efforts to get Atiku to backtrack after Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State said he may withdraw from the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).
He stated this in an eight-page letter he addressed to the national chairman of the party, Senator Iyiocha Ayu. Ayu and some party chieftains had recently visited the Bauchi State governor.
Although the close-door visit had raised concerns, the party leaders dismissed any notion of fresh friction within their ranks. Also, Atiku had a meeting with the Bauchi State governor in Abuja after his letter.
Mohammed, who is the vice chairman for the Northern zones in the PCC, demanded that Atiku should publicly disown those that are working against him and declare support for his reelection come 2023.
Wike and his team also met with Governor Mohammed shortly after the Abuja meeting. After the parley in Bauchi, the River State governor announced the readiness of his group for reconciliation talks provided Atiku and the leadership of the PDP are ‘ready to do the right things.’
The Nation further gathered that Atiku and the party may have decided to pursue fresh avenues in search of peace with Wike’s group following sustained pressure from some quarters within and outside the party.
Signs that Atiku may be succumbing to pressure emerged during the week when he welcomed reports that Wike and his group are favourably disposed to the resolution of the issues.
Paul Ibe, Atiku’s Media Adviser, on Thursday said: “Atiku Abubakar also expresses his commitment to a negotiation that will resolve the crisis of confidence and pave the way for a much stronger and united PDP.
“The former Vice President of Nigeria notes that never at any time of the differences that have ensued have the doors been shut to Governor Wike and his group.”
Feelers from sources within the party claimed that the renewed push for peace is being spearheaded by a group of stakeholders led by Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State and a prominent female politician from the South-South who is perceived as a strong loyalist of Governor Wike in the National Working Committee (NWC).
It was also gathered that some supporters of the presidential candidates in the leadership of the party as well as many gubernatorial candidates of the PDP are displeased with Atiku’s decision to move on without the aggrieved governor.
Sources within the party told The Nation that a group of guber flag-bearers from the south had met with the leadership of the party to express their displeasure with the lingering crisis, and urged the PDP to find a way of bringing Wike and his team back on board in the interest of the party.
A source said: “The candidates specifically explained that it will be difficult for some of them to win their elections without the support of some of the aggrieved governors.
“Many of them, especially in states that are out of the control of the PDP, recalled how some of the governors in Wike’s camp have been supporting the party in their states as well as backing their gubernatorial aspirations.
“They lamented the difficulties they currently face without the support of the governors.”
Perhaps as part of a renewed reconciliation move, Atiku was in Minna, the Niger State capital, yesterday to meet with former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (Rtd).
He arrived at Minna Airport around 12.45pm and was driven straight to the Uphill residence of Babangida.
His running mate Governor Ifeanyi Okowa; his DG Campaign Governor Aminu Tambuwal; Taraba Governor Darius Ishaku; former Adamawa Governor Senator Boni Haruna; Former Imo Governor Emeka Ihedioaha; former Jigawa Governor Sule Lamido and former Niger Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, among others, were with him.
Shortly after about an hour-closed door meeting with the former military president, Atiku expressed optimism that the crisis rocking the party would be resolved before the general elections, saying the party will overcome the current disagreement with the five governors and come out better and stronger.
“We have always engaged the five governors and we will continue to engage them. It is a family quarrel and we believe that we will resolve it before the elections and you will see a very, very united and strong PDP that will face the elections,” he added.
He added that he was in Minna, as usual, to pay respect to the former military president whom he described as “a father of the nation and post-war independence”.
According to him, “It is customary for us to come and pay our respect to IBB for his services to the country. We consider them, they are the fathers of post-war independence and they also nurse the current democratic dispensation in the country.
“We will continue to come and pay our respect to them and remind them of their contribution to this country.”
Reliable party sources told our correspondent that the trip to Minna may not be unconnected with a peace move with the Wike group.
According to our sources, Wike and his team may also visit the Minna home of the former military president soon.
“There is an ongoing move to end the face-off. Both parties have expressed willingness and stakeholders have decided to use the new opportunity well.
“That is why you can see that all hands and everybody that matters in PDP are now involved to make it work this time.
“We have told ourselves that it is unwise for us to allow the same thing that made us lose the presidency in 2015 to happen to us again when we can help it,” our source said. (The Nation)
