A group of presidential aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who participated in the party primary last May, and some members of the National Executive Committee are intensified efforts to resolve the crisis within the party.
The fallouts of the primary, which threw up former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as presidential candidate and his eventual nomination of Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate have led to one upheaval or the other threatening the chances of the party in next year’s elections.
Of particular concern to the party has been the resolve of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and his supporters not to work for the party in the presidential election. Wike finished second in the party’s presidential party and was touted as vice presidential candidate until Atiku settled for Okowa.
Alongside his counterparts in Oyo, Enugu, Benue, and Abia States — Seyi Makinde, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Samuel Ortom, and Okezie Ikpeazu — Wike has, in the past two months, threatened not to support the PDP unless the National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu quit his position in place of a southerner.
According to the Wike group, Ayu agreed to relinquish his position if a northerner emerged as the party’s presidential candidate. Atiku’s victory at the presidential primary meant that both the candidate and the party chairman were from the North.
The aggrieved governors have since pulled out of the party’s presidential campaign council, a development that prompted the Board of Trustees (BoT) to set up an ad hoc committee to broker peace. One of the Board’s recommendations is that the chairman should commit to vacate his seat after the 2023 elections. Wike and his group, however, rejected the report and insisted that Ayu must resign as the chairman before the polls.
It was gathered that before the BoT came up with the idea of setting up the committee, the presidential aspirants made an attempt to see Wike, but were not successful until the governor travelled to London in September with members of his camp.
One of the aspirants, Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa said that despite Wike group’s uncompromising, the reconciliation efforts would continue as no serious PDP member “will want to give up.
“Nobody will want to give up on reconciliation, because it is fundamental to our ability to confront the competition ahead. It is an ongoing exercise, and we pray that wisdom will prevail. And if wisdom prevails, the party will smile and will be able to go into the elections as a united entity”.
On reconciling the aspirants, Ohuabunwa, who was himself a presidential aspirant, said: “We are trying, but the truth of the matter is that all over the world, there are people who stick to certain principles, and they are implacable. If you want peace, make sure there is justice.
“Wike is a dogged fighter for what he believes in. If you care to listen to him, you will find out that he is not fighting for the sake of fighting. A lot of people are speaking with him, but he is saying, ‘Let justice be done’. The question is: Is it possible to meet some of his demands to form the basis of reconciliation?
“We have done a lot, but we don’t have to put everything in the media. We are working day and night and we are also praying. A lot of subterranean undercurrents are going on and we are hopeful that this crisis will come to an end soon”, he said.
Another aspirant, Bashorun Dele Momodu expressed the willingness of the former contestants for the PDP ticket to meet with Wike to resolve the crisis in the party’s interest.
“I love Wike, and I will continue to love him. We (presidential aspirants) will like to meet with him, but the roads are blocked given the statements coming from him. So, it is not easy, but the intention, willingness, and readiness are there. We will not give up no matter what”, Momodu said.
A former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, who also contested the presidential ticket and was appointed a special envoy to Atiku last month, expressed determination to do all that was necessary to make the PDP united ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
Speaking for the former Kwara State governor, his media aide, Barrister Yusuph Olaniyonu said: “The disagreement within the party is a family issue. Somebody like Dr Saraki is close to all the individuals involved and he gets on well with all of them. As a loyal party man, he is determined to work with others to ensure the party goes into the 2023 polls as a united party”.
Credit: Saturday PUNCH
