By Gideon Njoku
A few hours before his meeting in London with the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, finally, personally decided to douse the raging fire in the Party.
In a Press Statement on Thursday, August 25, 2022, signed on his behalf by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku took charge, and sounded conciliatory. He told those who not a few people think have been stoking the fire of crisis in the Party, albeit in his support, to hold it and be careful and cautious of what they say.
Even though he did not mention anybody by name, not a few fingers pointed at the former Governors of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu and that of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido.
Both former Governors had, in the past couple of days, put Wike on the firing line over his wrangling with Atiku.
The relationship between the two men had soured since after the PDP Presidential Primary where Atiku beat Wike to a second place. To add salt to a festering sore, Atiku ignored Wike and picked Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate against the recommendation of a Committee he and the PDP set up to choose a running mate for him. Asked why he shunned Wike, in a television interview, Atiku said he wanted somebody he could work with amicably.
An outraged Wike and his Camp which include the Governors of Benue, Abia, Enugu, Oyo – Samuel Ortom, Okezie Ikpeazu, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Seyi Makinde, respectively- and other high profile stakeholders, gave the Party a wide berth. They have, instead, been carrying on in a manner one could easily dismiss as anti-party.
Angered by what he called Wike’s antics, Lamido called him an emperor, told him, literally to go to hell, and informed him that neither the Party nor Atiku, owed him an apology or any explanation. In eight months time, Lamido told Wike, you will be a former Governor. On Rivers State votes, Lamido told Wike that he, Wike, had no control over the votes. Aliyu spoke in much the same manner.
And, not to be outdone, Wike dismissed Lamido as politically irrelevant, and accused him of being one of the reasons the PDP lost elections in 2015 to the then opposition All Progressives Congress, APC.
But on Thursday, Atiku who had played above the fray, perhaps, in realisation of the damage the crisis could do to his chances in 2023, called on party members and stakeholders and his supporters “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”
Said Atiku: “It has become imperative to appeal to all party members, leaders and everyone related to, connected with or associated with the Presidential candidate to desist from making comments that potentially reduce the optics of PDP’s image as a united political party.”
Following is the full text of the statement, entitled:
Atiku calls on PDP members, supporters to desist from statements that may compromise party’s unity
“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 Abubakar 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.
“Today, Nigerians look up to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 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.
“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.”
Atiku and Wike, for the second time since after the choice of Okowa as running mate, met in London on Thursday. Their first meeting was in Abuja at the residence of Professor Jerry Gana, a PDP Board of Trustees member, and a member of the Wike Camp.
