In the midst of an ongoing internal conflict, the Peoples Democratic Party, or PDP, officially launched its presidential campaign on Monday.
After the party’s presidential primary, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and his friends, who have not yet been placated, issued a strong message to the gathering.
Despite the fact that a large number of people attended the campaign flag-off, observers claim that the absence of Wike, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, Samuel Ortom of Benue, and Seyi Makinde of Oyo is a major setback for the opposition party’s hopes of regaining the nation’s top seat.
Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate and former vice president, as well as his running mate Ifeanyi Okowa, the governors of Akwa Ibom and Bauchi, as well as Ahmadu Fintiri, the governor of Adamawa, and Dino Melaye, a former lawmaker from Kogi West, were all in attendance.
The disgruntled governors have already abstained from the party’s main event since Atiku’s emergence.
PulseNets recalls that Wike and his allies, notably Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, continued to abstain when the PDP Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) was established in September.
Their action is predicated on their insistence that the PDP National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, step down in order to create a sense of equity in the party’s leadership, as the Southern region of the nation feels ignored.
Before Ayu became the PDP’s national chairman, Wike and his associates were in charge of attending PDP events and making decisions.
However, unlike the APC, the PDP declined to zone its presidential ticket to the South and instead declared it open, allowing Atiku to win the nomination. This was done after Ayu was elected chairman.
Ayu was intended to resign immediately, according to Governor Wike’s group, to make room for a Southerner to take over and provide a balanced leadership in the party. However, Ayu is not prepared for that.
A few days earlier, Atiku was alleged to have approached Wike once more in a private meeting in Abuja, where he allegedly pledged to back the governor of Rivers in 2027, just as he had done to the South-East during his meeting with PDP supporters in Enugu.
Shortly after meeting with Atiku, Wike and his fellow G-5 Governors rushed Enugu and conducted a meeting behind closed doors.
Although the G-5 declined to brief the media following the meeting, a source had suggested that they had effectively sealed Atiku’s doom.
“Their stand remains that if Ayu refuses to resign, they will not be part of any presidential campaign of the party.
“Both Atiku and Ayu are obstinate to the calls for the national chairman’s resignation; what it means is that they don’t value the support of these governors. So, the G-5 Governors have also decided not to move an inch from their stand.
“They made that point clear again today in Uyo and there is no going back; these Governors have been the ones sustaining the party, but Atiku and Ayu came from nowhere and want to rubbish them. Let’s see how far they will go,” the highly placed source said.
The Secretary-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, told the media on the most recent event that the G-5 Governors’ action was not unexpected.
He pointed out that the PDP’s unfair treatment of Southern Nigeria was the reason the G-5 Governors were right to boycott Atiku’s campaign launch.
Isizuzoro said, “They have shown that they are true Nigerians. How could you explain a situation where a party’s presidential candidate and the national chairman will come from one region? So, what are they going to tell the people during the campaign?
“How would these Southern and Middle-Belt Governors go and start preaching to people to support Atiku? It will be a misnomer, it will be a bad show.
“We told you the last time that about 18 Governors are behind Peter Obi. Atiku is being deceived by someone in the presidency; he will only survive 2023 if he heeds to the demand of Wike and his group.
“But if he continues to let pride rule over him, what happened to him in 2019 would be a child’s play to the fate that will befall him in 2023. He will come a distant third in that election. It appears that the gods have blinded his reasoning and that is why Ayu has refused to step down. PDP as it is constituted today has no sense of justice and equity.
“You saw that the stadium could not even be filled up; Wike alone is a mass movement; so, you can’t underrate his absence, alongside his four other colleagues.”
“Don’t also forget that Atiku is not sincere towards resolving the crisis at all. Recall that in Enugu he told the people of the South-East that his presidency will be a stepping stone to their dream of having a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction. Few days later, he was quoted to have promised Wike of the same presidency in 2027. Is this a leader you can trust? NIgerians are wiser now,” the Ohaneze scribe added.
