As the electioneering campaign ahead of the 2023 election kickstarts this month, political actors have started strategising on which political platform their interest would best serve.
This is even as it’s expected that Governor Nyesom Wike and former minister Rotimi Amaechi may switch political parties.
Photo Credit: Atiku Abubakar, Nyeson Wike
Source: Facebook
Wike vs Atiku
Legit.ng reports that Wike is currently at the centre of the crisis, rocking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The Rivers State Governor believes there hasn’t been fairness and equity in the PDP since Atiku Abubakar emerged as the presidential candidate.
Recall that Wike contested against Atiku in the primary but emerged second after Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State stepped down for him (Atiku.)
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Wike’s demand
Aggrieved Wike believes both the presidential candidate of the party and the party chairman cannot come from the north. He has requested that the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu should, step aside for someone else ( A southerner).
Recall that Wike was earlier aggrieved over the choice of Ifeanyi Okowa against his recommendation by the party’s leadership. It was Wike that was recommended by the committee set up by Atiku to pick his running mate, but after the recommendation, Atiku surprisingly opted for Ifeanyi Okowa.
But Wike did not come out directly to challenge Atiku on the choice of Okowa. The Rivers State governor, with the support of more than four governors, have now insisted that Ayu should not continue to stay in the party as its national chairman. They want a different person.
Wike indicts Atiku
In continuation of his push for Ayu’s resignation, Wike said in Port Harcourt on Thursday during the commissioning of a project that even Atiku Abubakar himself had promised that Ayu would resign after he emerged the party’s flagbearer.
According to Wike:
“When we finished our convention on a Saturday to Sunday, the candidate of the party (Atiku) came to see me in my house in Abuja on Monday around 10:30 am…The candidate told me: ‘I want us to work together’ and then he said, ‘Look, Ayu must go’.
“I said why? He said because when a candidate comes from the north, the chairman will come from the south. And I am saying, implement what you told me. What offence have I committed? It has nothing to do with Wike; it has to do with integrity.”
Wike also went ahead to remind Ayu of his promise to resign if a Northern candidate emerges.
He said Ayu must keep to his promise, else he will take a decision that will not favour the party in the coming election. Wike said Ayu had promised in a meeting that a Northern candidate’s emergence will mean his exit.
Wike hammered on leadership insincerity and the need to change the narrative, stating that Ayu’s resignation is a fight to finish.
He said:
“This fight, we will fight it till the end.”
Wike threatens APC
Responding to Ayu’s comment that those agitating for his removal are children, Wike said for referring to those aggrieved as children will help him to lose the 2023 election.
“Yes, the children brought you to be chairman of the party. The children brought you from the gutter to make you chairman. Doctor Ayu said we are children. Yes, the children brought you from the gutter to make you chairman. Now we have seen that you don’t want the party to win election, we will help you.”
PDP not ready to remove Ayu
There are protest comments from members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that Ayu must not resign.
A PDP youth leader, Eric Ekwere, arguing in favour of Ayu, said the party had demanded Ayu’s resignation apart from Wike and his friends at no point.
He said it’s only when the party begins to demand for Mr Ayu’s resignation that he can step aside.
He quoted Ayu as saying:
“If the PDD says I should step down after a presidential candidate emerges and happens to be from the north, I will be very glad to do so.
“Now the next thing that should bother us should be…
‘Has the PARTY demanded for Senator Ayu’s exit as National Chairman?
“Can we rightly say that Governor Nyesom Wike alone constitutes the party?
“If the answer to 2 above is no, then what forms the party?” he asked.
Atiku’s silence amid crisis
In trying to ensure he does not play the spoiler, Atiku has remained silent over the matter, even though he has refused to state what he wants expressly. This may be a major issue. It’s yet to be seen what he wants at the moment.
It remains to be seen how the crisis will end. Will Wike leave the PDP? Will PDP sack Ayu? Will Ayu resign voluntarily? Only time will tell.
Source: Legit.ng
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