Following the visit of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, in his private residence on Thursday in Abuja, enraged governors of the Peoples Democratic Party met on Sunday in Enugu to plot their next move.
Governors Wike, Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and the host, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, were in attendance.
The meeting comes three days after Atiku met privately with Wike, in which the presidential candidate pleaded for his support ahead of the presidential election in 2023.
The PDP standard bearer met with Rivers Governor Nyesom Wike as part of his renewed efforts to end the stalemate between him and the five PDP governors led by Wike.
The Abuja meeting, however, ended in a stalemate after the Rivers governor reportedly insisted on no peace deal until the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, resigned.
Since its presidential primary in May, the party has been in crisis.
Wike, who lost to Atiku, had expressed dissatisfaction with the process, claiming that the PDP treated him unfairly and did not carry him along.
Wike insisted that Ayu resign if his camp was to reach an agreement with the party’s flag bearer, but Atiku said he had no authority to do so.
If the chairman must be removed, Atiku stated that the party’s constitution must be followed.
After a series of meetings with their representatives failed to resolve the crisis, Wike and some of his colleagues and allies boycotted the party’s presidential campaign council’s inauguration in Abuja last Wednesday.
Prof Jerry Gana, as well as former governors Ayo Fayose, Jonah Jang, Donald Duke, and Olusegun Mimiko, boycotted the event. Chief Olabode George, the party’s former deputy national chairman, was also absent.
Senator Olaka Wogu, one of Wike’s close allies who was privy to what was discussed at the Abuja meeting, told The PUNCH in an interview that the governor reiterated his demand to the former vice-president that Ayu must go.
He confirmed that the meeting between Atiku and Wike ended in a deadlock after the governor remained steadfast in his demands.
According to unconfirmed reports, Atiku promised to support Wike for the presidency in 2027. Atiku’s campaign spokespersons later denied this.
However, findings on Sunday revealed that, in order to keep the PDP national chairman out of office, the party’s five disgruntled governors, led by Wike, met in Enugu, the Enugu State capital, for a strategy meeting.
