Wike Taunts Atiku, Criticizes  Tambuwal’s Appointment As DG PDP Presidential Campaign Council

By Adesina Soyooye

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has added the recent appointment of the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, as the Director General of the Peoples Democratic Party, to the marginalization of the South in the PDP.

The Leadership of the PDP had, a few days ago, appointed members of its Campaign Council. It  appointed Tambuwal the DG and the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel the Chairman.

Many see Emmanuel’s appointment as ceremonial, and insist that the power resides in the Candidate, the National Chairman and the DG.

Wike agrees. And,  taunted the Party’s Presidential flag-bearer, Atiku Abubakar, reminding him of 2014, when he walked out on the Party, dumped it and joined the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Addressing a Rivers State PDP Stakeholders meeting at the Government House, Porthacourt, on Thursday, Wike said the North has taken all the important positions in the PDP. 

Wike has been at loggerheads with the Party and the Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over the sharing of Party positions. He and and his supporters, known as Camp Wike, say the National Chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, should step down for a Southerner since Atiku is also a Northerner.

According to Wike in an earlier statement, that was the agreement before the Presidential Primary. But Ayu, who promised to step down if a Presidential candidate emerge from the North has reneged. He is talking about his four-year term. And Atiku, who Wike revealed, him hours after the election that Ayu would step down, has reneged too. He says he cannot make Ayu to step down.

But Wike pooh-poohed that and asked Atiku: if you can put pressure on the Board of Trustees Chairman to step down, why not the National Chairman?

Wike: They are telling you that they told the Chairman of the BoT to resign. So, you know there is a problem. You said he should go and resign. You can put pressure on him to resign when his tenure hasn’t come to an end. But you cannot put pressure on the Chairman to resign. You think at our level you can deceive us. You can tell us stories.”

Wike noted that the Constitution of the PDP provided that elective offices should be shared. But he said the North has taken everything.

Wike: “They are the candidate, the Chairman and now DG of the Campaign Council. Decisions are made by the Presidential candidate, Chairman of the Party and the DG of the Campaign.”

Taunts Atiku

Governor Wike literally called Atiku a weakling who runs away from a fight. Insisting that he and his team will not leave the Party, but will fight from inside until justice is done, Wike said: “We will do the fight in the Party. We are not like them when in 2014 they walked out from Eagle Square. They’ve forgotten. They walked out and joined APC. Is it not correct?

“Did they remain to fight inside the party? But we remained. They ran away. Now, there is a fight in the Party, we will not run. We will fight it in this party. Those who run away from fight are weak people. We will not.”

In 2014, during the administration of Presidenr Goodluck Jonathan, Atiku had shocked Nigerians when he led a group of PDP high profile members, including six Governors and Dr Bukola Saraki, to  walkout on Jonathan. They later joined the APC. Their action made it possible for the Presidential candidate of the then fledgling APC, General Muhammadu Buhari, to defeat the incumbent Jonathan.

All of them, except the immediate past Minister for Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, are back to the PDP. However, Amaechi has been uncharacteristically quiet since after losing the APC Presidential ticket to Bola Tinubu.