Crisis: PDP Hawks Bay for Wike’s Head

By Chidi Levi

The crisis rocking the People’s Democratic Party, PDP may,  in a few days, take a turn for the worst unless the Party’s Presidential Candidate and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, reins in hawks within the Party who have concluded plans to push for the expulsion of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike and dissolution of the State’s Executive Chapter of the Party should the Governor continue with his war of attrition against the PDP.

The Plot Against Wike

A member of the PDP’s National Working Committee, NWC, told this magazine at the weekend that the majority of the NWC members are tired of Wike’s antics and having tolerated him enough, will come all out for him soon.

“If he refuses to budge after NWC’s reconciliation visit to him this week, we will deal with the Wike question once and for all. He cannot be bigger than the Party, and nobody is.

“If Wike continues to carry on as if he owns the PDP, and as if the PDP cannot survive without him if he continues to talk down on everyone and continues to demand the impossible, we will have no option than wield the big stick”, the NWC member said.

The Magazine gathered that while some NWC members and other stakeholders of the Party prefer suspension some others, especially hot heads, are pushing for Wike’s outright expulsion and dissolution of the State Working Committee of the party.

“Suspension of Wike and hijacking of the Rivers PDP structure from him via dissolution of State’s Chapter of the Party are seriously being considered. “A strong message has to be sent to other members, including Governors supporting Wike to the effect that nobody can hold PDP to ransom no matter their position”, a chieftain of the party from the North who was also a former Senator further told the magazine.

The Hawks Woo Amaechi

Multiple Party sources, also, informed the magazine that Wike’s predecessor and the immediate past Transport Minister, Chibuike Amaechi is currently being wooed into the Party to hand Rivers’ PDP structure to him if Wike is suspended.

Amaechi, a two-term PDP Governor, was among the Party’s Governors who rebelled against it, worked against the re-election of former President Goodluck Jonathan and eventually pulled out to join forces with the then fledgeling APC to oust the PDP from power in 2015.

Following APC and Muhammadu Buhari’s victory, Amaechi was appointed Transport Minister but resigned in May this year to contest for APC’s 2023 Presidential ticket.

Since losing to Bola Tinubu, Amaechi has remained disinterested in APC affairs. Though a leader of the party in Rivers, APC has gone extinct in the State as thousands of supporters and members, including his core loyalists, have defected to the PDP following his loss of the APC presidential ticket.

PDP hawks baying for Wike’s head, the magazine learnt, believe that Amaechi’s re-entry into the party will drastically dilute the Governor’s influence in River’s politics as well as in the State PDP.

Atiku is Aware of Wike’s Importance in PDP

Meanwhile,  there are strong indications that Atiku is not favourably disposed to the expulsion of Wike or the hijacking of the Rivers PDP structures from him.

According to sources close to the former VP, he does not want the PDP to go into the 2023 elections a divided house.

Said one of the sources: “Our Presidential candidate is an experienced politician who knows the implication of a national party such as the PDP going into a Presidential election a divided house. He is therefore not in support of any extreme measure against Wike”

Another source puts it this way: “Atiku is aware that Wike is not a pushover, Atiku knows the incalculable damage Wike can do to the success of the party in next year’s Presidential election if provoked further, and above all, he knows that Wike’s insistence that it’s against national balance and cohesion for the PDP’s Presidential Candidate and National Chairman to come from the North hence he has mandated the NWC members to prostrate and beg Wike if need be during their reconciliation visit to Port Harcourt”

Why Ayu Survived

It was gathered that the National Executive Committee, NEC, of the party was on the verge of sacking the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu last week to placate Wike but attention was, at the last minute, drawn to a provision of the PDP Constitution which would have been violated and further push the party deeper into crisis by his sack hence it was resolved that the Board of Trustees (BoT) Chairman, Walid Jubril be replaced by a Southerner in the interim while a full-blown convention will be held immediately after the 2023 General elections to re-arrange the NWC offices, including the National Chairman’s position.

Wike’s War and the 2027 Connection

The party slipped into crisis following the May 28, 2022, Presidential Primary which the River State Governor lost to Atiku. Matters came to a head when Atiku sidetracked the PDP Committee’s recommendation of Wike as his Running Mate to pick the Delta State Governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa.

And contrary to his pre-primary pledge to support whoever emerged as the candidate of the party if he didn’t win, Wike, portraying himself as the voice of the South in the PDP, has withheld support for the Atiku/Okowa ticket, insisting that the Party’s National Chairman, Senator Ayu, from Benue State must quit his position for a Southerner.

The Governor, last week, dismissed Walid Jubril’s resignation as the BoT Chairman, insisting that nothing short of Ayu’s exit will placate him, his supporters and Southern Nigeria.

There are, however, insinuations that having failed to clinch the PDP 2023 Presidential ticket, Wike is already preparing for the 2027 Presidential election hence his insistence on Ayu’s exit to pave the way to a pliant Chairman from the South who he will instal and who he hopes will hand over the Party’s 2027 presidential ticket to him.

The Rivers State Governor is supported in his feud with the PDP by the Governors of Benue( Samuel Ortom), Oyo( Seyi Makinde) Abia ( Okezie Ikpeazu) and Enugu( Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi).