…Meet behind closed doors
There are indications that there may be reprieve for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as its Presidential Candidate Atiku Abubakar and governor Nyesom Wike who are the major protagonists in the crises met for the first time behind closed doors.
A source close to the party confirmed that the meeting was held at Asokoro in the residence of Prof. Jerry Gana who is a founding member and member of the party’s Board of Trustees.
Although details of the meeting is still sketchy as at the time of filling the report, it is worthy to note that the two parties had kept very distant relationship after Atiku emerged as the Presidential candidate of the party.
Atiku and Wike related at arm’s length and Wike remained aloof to party activities after Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State was picked as the Vice Presidential candidate of the party.
It was learnt the Wike felt offended by the choice of Okowa and was even more aggrieved as Atiku failed to approach him before announcing Okowa as his running mate.
However Wike had insisted that Atiku should take only one tenure while Ayu should vacate his office for a southerner.
A PDP Chieftain, Dr. Katch Ononuju had disclosed that the choice of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta State over Nyesom Wike of Rivers states as the Vice Presidential Candidate was because Okowa betrayed the South by secretly funding the Presidential primary of Atiku Abubakar when the region had already agreed to produce the successor of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ononuju who is an ally of governor Wike said that the inordinate ambition of Atiku was responsible for the jettisoning of zoning and rotation which was enshrined in PDP constitution so as to accommodate the Presidential ambition of the former Vice President. He explained that the twist led to the exit of Peter Obi and Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso from PDP.
Ononuju blamed the former Vice President for the poor handling of crises and agitations that emanated after the emergence of Okowa as his running mate and for not insisting that the agreement reached between the North and the South on the continued stay of Ayu as the party’s national chairman should be enforced immediately.
He further said that the crises is escalated by the inability of the party’s chairman to honour an earlier agreement that if a Notherner emerges as Presidential Candidate, Ayu will vacate his seat to a Southerner.
He blamed the former Vice President for the poor handling of crises and agitations that emanated after the emergence of Okowa as his running mate and for not insisting that the agreement reached between the North and the South on the continued stay of Ayu as the party’s national chairman should be enforced immediately.
“Atiku and caucus where he is, has been told to give up the position of the chairmanship which Ayu pledged he will give up if a Northerner emerges. That they are finding it very difficult to keep and the difficulty in keeping to that is also part of the problems
“The caucus of the party led by Wike has asked the chairman to resign so that a southerner in line with the agreement will now become the chairman. They are refusing to do that and I think that that is where the problem is.
“The South needs to be carried along as a partner going into the election. It will be wrong to have the North produce the candidate and the North as the chairman. Let the balance be respected now as we go into election. It is when you respect that balance, the need to carry people along, in the face of exhibited impunity that people will have a sense of belonging. It is when they feel that sense of belong that they will contribute and work together as members of that same team.
“Let the chairman resign, let the quest and demand of the southern caucus be respected. The North cannot keep party chairman and party presidential candidate and think that southerners will be comfortable. Whatever advantage comes with the North having a party chairman should be given to the south so that the North will have the advantage of having the ticket and the south will have the advantage of having the chairman.
“You cannot ask me to be part of a game when I do not feel satisfied that I am truly a member of that union. It is when I feel that I am carried along that I will say that I a part of it”.
