In response to reports that Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has decided to support the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party’s nominee, Atiku Abubakar, have discounted the notion of Wike abandoning his party.
Wike, along with four other PDP governors and chieftains, had made it plain that they would not campaign for Atiku unless the existing National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, was removed from office.
The Rivers governor, Seyi Makinde, and his counterparts in Oyo, Benue, Abia, and Enugu states, Seyi Makinde, Samuel Ortom, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, are determined to depose Ayu on the grounds that the PDP presidential candidate and party chairman should not come from the same regional bloc.
In September, the party’s governors and other key stakeholders resigned their membership in the presidential campaign council, including former governors Donald Duke (Cross River), Jonah Jang (Plateau), and Olusegun Mimiko (Ondo), as well as a former Minister of Information, Prof Jerry Gana; a former PDP Board of Trustees Chairman, Chief Bode George, and a slew of others.
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However, the former vice president preferred to remain silent, claiming that only Ayu could decide whether or not to continue on.
Meanwhile, there were rumours that, when Atiku failed to heed the advice of the disgruntled party leaders, Governor Wike had decided to back Tinubu’s campaign, believing his chances were better than those of the Labour Party’s nominee, Mr Peter Obi.
Sources close to the situation told our correspondent that Wike will remain a member of the PDP while mobilising support for Tinubu in Rivers.
The governor had stated a few weeks ago that the PDP in Rivers would rally behind all candidates for the House of Assembly, National Assembly, and governorship elections, adding that Atiku would remain an outcast in the oil-rich state until the right thing was done.
“Our state will go PDP. Regarding the governorship, House of Representatives, Senate, and state Assembly, I am not keeping it a secret. We won’t make a decision on the other until the appropriate thing is done, Wike had stated.
Additionally, a week ago, at the inauguration of the Rukpokwu-Igwuruta Link Road in the Rivers state’s Obio-Akpor Local Government Area, Wike sparked alarm in the Atiku camp by posing some unsettling questions to the enormous audience that had gathered to watch the ceremony.
“After that, I’ll come over and let you know where to cast your ballot in the presidential election. I’ll only say to you, “Don’t worry, calm down.” Make sure you cast your vote for the people I mentioned. Quite soon, we
Although he insisted that talks of reconciliation between the two camps were still ongoing, Dino Melaye, the spokesman of the National Election Management Committee of the Presidential Campaign Council, ruled out Wike’s defection to any party when speaking with our correspondent about the development.
Melaye stated, “We are still in communication and Wike is not defecting.
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In a similar vein, Chief Dele Momodu, Director of Strategic Communication for the PDP Campaign Council, declared that he would answer if the governor made it known what his stance was on the issue.
He continued, “I can’t answer till he (Wike) does,” even as he claimed to be unaware of the governor’s alleged intention to team up with the APC presidential candidate.
The Rivers State governor was not “as important as he thinks he is,” according to Atiku’s supporter Mustapha Shehu, Director General of Borno House-to-House for Atiku/Okowa campaign organisation.
“The consensus among Nigerians is that Atiku is the best candidate, according to practically every street. This is one among the reasons Atiku, despite keeping the door open for reconciliation, chose to move forward without the G-5 (governors). Wike is not as significant in the current situation as he believes, it is becoming clear.
A close friend of Governor Samuel Ortom who declined to provide his identity warned our correspondent that Wike and Tinubu might collaborate in the future.
“Governor Wike is passionate about the South gaining the presidency in 2023,” he stated. You will comprehend this if you have ever been in a meeting where he presented this case. It is challenging to persuade him that there is an alternative to a southern presidential administration. In 2019, he openly backed Aminu Tambuwal for governor of Sokoto State in support of the North. This time, he had anticipated the South returning the favour, but that did not occur.
“It is unfortunate that Ayu is holding on when she ought to have gently quit to allay these leaders’ concerns. Perhaps Wike wants to show everyone that he means business. I believe Wike will back Tinubu if Ayu remains in office and Atiku is unwilling to take anything. There is no doubt that he won’t leave the PDP.
