Tension looms in the Camp of the People’s Democratic Party as the Former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, and the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday, met with Governor Nyesom Wike in London. Also at the meeting were Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, and former governors Donald Duke of Cross Rivers State and Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State.
Meanwhile, it was not clear if the meeting is related to the crisis engulfing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Daily Sun learned that Atiku Abubakar and Wike’s camp also met in London last night. The meeting, which is coming on the heels of intense lobbying of Wike and his loyalists by the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, and the LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is the second time Atiku will be meeting with the Rivers governor, since the crisis broke in the opposition party, two months ago.
Daily Sun gathered that Atiku was accompanied to the meeting by the Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, leader of a team set up by the PDP candidate to interface with the Wike on how to resolve the crisis.
A top official in the office of the former vice president confirmed it. However, details of discussions between Atiku and the Wike camp was still sketchy as press time
A source close to Atiku said: “They had useful discussions. I can tell you that both camps would soon reconcile their difference,” he said.
Pressed to reveal more details of the discussion, the source said, “just wait and see. It is only a matter of few hours or days.”
The meeting came shortly after Atiku had cautioned his supporters against comments likely to jeopardise the unity of the party.
He gave the caution, in a statement, by his media aide, Paul Ibe, yesterday.
Early yesterday, Obi had tweeted that he would be traveling to the US for a series of events but would make a stop over at Frankfurt, Germany, today to meet with Nigerians living there.
Earlier this week, it was also reported that Wike’s camp met with Tinubu in London. In an interview with BBC Hausa, the one-time running mate to Tinubu, Ibrahim Masari, confirmed that a meeting held and claimed that Wike would help the ruling party win the 2023 election.
Following the fallout of the PDP primary, Wike’s camp had insisted that part of the conditions that must be met before it can take part in Atiku’s campaign is if the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, relinquished for a southerner since the party’s presidential candidate is a northerner. Ayu has however remained adamant.
The Rivers governor and his supporters have been on at logger heads with the PDP and Atiku since the emergence of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as the party’s vice presidential candidate.
While Wike camp has insisted that the PDP national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, must be replaced as a condition for peace, the latter has said he would not resign his office.
Also, Jigawa State Governor, Sule Lamido, a staunch Atiku’s supporters and Wike has been engaged in war of words since the crisis stated.
However, the PDP presidential candidate in his statement, cautioned his supporters and other members of the party to “desist forthwith from making statements that are capable of compromising the on-going work towards further strengthening the party and bringing all its leaders together.”
According to him, “it has become imperative to appeal to all party members, leaders and everyone related to, connected with or associated with the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku to desist from making comments that potentially reduce the optics of PDP’s image as a united political party. This appeal becomes necessary in order to call the attention of party leaders and members to the diversionary antics of the ruling All Progressives Congress which, in manufacturing a false impression of division within the PDP, aims to hoodwink the Nigerian public to overlook the monumental failures of the ruling party. All the leaders of the party, including especially the governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Nyesom Wike and all governors of the PDP are united in working for the victory of the PDP in next year’s general election across board.
“What is at stake in the next year’s election is the future of Nigeria and all leaders and members of the PDP are on the same page in the mission to rescue Nigeria from the stranglehold of the APC.”
The PDP candidate explained that Nigerians were looking up to the opposition party “to lead the charge in ousting the ruling party. This expectation from the people is the reason why the APC is jittery of their impending fall in next year’s general election. It is also the very reason why the ruling party is manipulating the political process to create a sense of division in the PDP.
“Because they know that there is nothing to campaign with from their records of performance in office, the APC has elected to play the role of the devil’s advocate, regaling in celebration of their imaginary invincibility upon a fraudulent claim that the PDP is divided. It is for this reason that appeal to every true member of the PDP and anyone who truly wishes the success of the PDP presidential candidate to not fall for the antics of the APC in making statements that could give credence to the false claim of divisions in the PDP.”
