Ex-VP broke pledge to Wike and the London arrangement made after the election – Source
New information has come to light on the meeting that Governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike had on Tuesday in Port Harcourt with a few board members of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Adolphus Wabara, the acting BoT chairman, Tanimu Turaki, the former minister of special duties and intergovernmental relations, Ibrahim Idris, the former governor of Kogi State, and four other individuals traveled to Port Harcourt earlier this week in search of peace in the wake of a protracted crisis that showed no signs of ending.
However, there are signs that the BoT may suggest that Iyorchia Ayu, the party’s national chairman, step down since all of Wike’s previous pleadings have been met with indifference.
According to sources who spoke to The PUNCH on Thursday, Wike lost no time in explaining to his guests how Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate, has repeatedly broken his commitments to the five governors who are demanding the expulsion of the party chairman.
The PDP BoT members were left speechless after Wike, who spoke on behalf of the offended governors, described everything that had happened, including how the PDP standard bearer had repeatedly let down the Southern bloc of the party with numerous unfulfilled promises, according to a former national officer of the party.
The PDP leader who was a member of the Uche Secondus-led executive informed a reporter that the governor promised not to work with the PDP Campaign Council until the troubled national chairman departed.
Wike allegedly proposed a previous governor of a South-South state to serve as the vice-presidential candidate before Atiku chose Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate, but the party’s standard-bearer reportedly insisted on the Rivers State governor.
According to the source, Wike “told them that Atiku had let him down. He said that Atiku was the one who pleaded with him for vice president; he did not. He returned to announce he had chosen Okowa after finally agreeing and anticipating a solution.
But when Atiku decided on Okowa, he didn’t contact them (Wike and the other governors) again to express his thoughts. And his remarks at Okowa’s unveiling was quite unsatisfactory,” Wike was reported as saying by the former PDP official.
“Wike also informed them that Atiku came to London and promised him that Ayu would quit to balance things,” the party chairman said. He also took issue with the grouping together and sharing of posts that had previously occurred. Dan Orbih and Ayo Fayose were present during the conference.
By the time he finished telling them, the members of the BoT were “speechless and certain that Wike had been harmed,” according to him. He explained to them how he continued the celebration even after everyone had departed and that he never took a day off from it.
“After hearing what Wike had to say, they questioned him about the next step. The only solution, according to Wike, was for Ayu to step down, and if he didn’t, no one should approach him about the PDP ever again. He said he wouldn’t abandon the party but also wouldn’t work for Atiku.
The PDP leader said that Wike addressed the Wabara-led reconciliation group about how an Atiku supporter openly abused him without the former vice president calling them to order.
“Wike said that Atiku refused to checkmate them until it got out of hand,” he continued. “Atiku supporters Tom Ikimi, Babangida Aliu, and Sule Lamido were assaulting him at the moment.
According to Shuaibu Oyedokun, a member of the BoT Reconciliation Committee, a meeting of the advisory body will take place as soon as the committee’s report is completed.
Oyedokun said that the committee was now ready to draft its report in preparation for submitting it to the BoT after visiting all the governors in Wike’s camp as well as Atiku and his running partner.
We will present our report to a bigger BoT meeting for consideration when it has been put together, and then it will be presented to the NWC. According to Oyedokun, the working group would next bring it to the NEC (National Executive Committee).
Former Jigawa State Governor and NEC, Lamido, said in a separate interview with The PUNCH that “it (reconciliation) is a continuing process up to the elections and even beyond,” but stopped short of excluding a rapid resolution to the problem.
Eddy Olafeso, a former National Vice Chairman (South-West) of the party, shares Lamido’s desire for Nigerians to have patience with the party, reiterating that the issue will soon be over.
