The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, is not ruling out a last-minute reconciliation between Governor Nyesom Wike and the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The feud between the Rivers governor and the former Vice President, who has maintained his cool, began shortly after the May 2022 special convention in Abuja.
Wike, a strong competitor, did not take Atiku’s defeat lightly, launching a series of tirades against “our enemies,” a veiled reference to the winner and his associates.
The outspoken politician has attacked PDP leaders on every platform possible, including flag-off or commissioning of projects, the media, interviews, and public meetings.
During a rally last November, Wike reiterated his position on power shift to the South, telling his supporters that he will announce the flagbearer they should vote for on February 25 in January.
The governor repeated the comment in December with a vow to tour throughout the country to advocate for whichever of Atiku’s opponents he sides with, claiming “nothing will happen”.
“All of you who have been in suspense…saying all kinds of things, abusing me, wait, January is here,” Wike said while commissioning a flyover in Port Harcourt.
Some believe Wike, who has been accused of anti-party actions, is supporting Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, while others believe he supports Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP.
Months after his claim, the former Education Minister has refused to publicly endorse a contender with less than two weeks till the presidential election. The PDP is hopeful for a peaceful outcome.
“Talks are not done on the pages of newspapers, 24 hours is a lifetime in politics,” National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba told PULSENETS Sunday night.
The former member of the House of Representatives stated that the status of the nation since the APC took control much transcends personal interests, asking citizens to depose the ruling party.
“Our candidate has made it clear that he is open to reconciliation. What is at stake is beyond individual interests, it is the country’s interests. We must come together and clean this mess.
“People are going through a lot…insecurity, no cash, no fuel. All these happening under a party that came to defraud Nigerians. The crisis is complicated by bad policies; this is not what we asked for.
“They printed money, we don’t know how they did it, no adequate information; now the money is not in circulation. What happened? They approved naira redesign but the new notes are not available.
“Are they not the people..their party…keeping the money? There are reports of about N22.5billion allegedly hidden in a Government House (in Northwest). The PDP believes Nigeria is in a bad shape.
“So, regarding reconciliation between Atiku and Wike, we will continue to have conversations,” Ologunagba stressed.
Wike finished second in the 2022 Abuja election after Governor Aminu Tambuwal stepped down for Atiku just before voting began at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.
The Sokoto governor, who currently chairs the Nigeria Governors Forum, is also the Director General of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council.
Surprisingly, at the 2018 convention in Port Harcourt, the former Obio/Akpor LG Chairman backed Tambuwal, who finished second behind Wazirin Adamawa.
Following the outcome of the last primary, Wike and his supporters began a cold war with Atiku and the PDP leadership, led by former Senate President Iyorchia Ayu.
Despite G5 governors’ initial opposition to a Northerner occupying the seat after another Northerner won the presidential ticket, the ex-Minister of Internal Affairs remains National Chairman.
Wike, Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), and Seyi Makinde (Oyo) met in France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, according to ex-diplomats.
The governor is also at odds with former ally and Ayu’s predecessor, Uche Secondus, over his support for Atiku and his supporters.
“We will take every might we have. All of you going to Abuja to hold meetings with our enemies…I’m going to finish you to the last,” he threatened at an event.
In response, Secondus, who last September accepted Atiku’s appointment as a Technical Adviser in his campaign, averred he would not bow to Wike.
“Wike you cannot crush anybody. I cannot fight or join issues with you, only God can crush,” the former PDP National Chairman said in a statement.
