Again, Wike group of five PDP governors aggrieved with the Atiku, shunned the Kaduna rally of the party on Thursday and headed for UK
By Emma Ogbuehi
Five governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who have been at daggers-drawn with its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have again boycotted the Kaduna rally of the party on Thursday. Rather, they have reportedly jetted out for the United Kingdom (UK) for a meeting.
The aggrieved governors are; Nyesom Wike (Rivers) Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) and Samuel Ortom (Benue). This is the second within three days that they are shunning Atiku and activities of the PDP.
At the campaign flag-off of the party in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on Monday, they also stayed away.
They had before then, announced their withdrawal from the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, insisting on the removal/resignation of the National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, as condition for further participation in the affairs of the party.
Wike, the leader of the team, is equally perceived to be angry with Atiku on his choice of Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa as his running mate, over him
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Before the Thursday meeting, Wike and members of his group had met in London in September.
The PDP governors, it was learnt, are expected to take certain decisions ahead of the 2023 poll.
The governors latest meeting in London may not be unconnected with the decision by the party and Atiku to flag off the campaign without Wike.
Efforts by all the party leaders including the its Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Adolphus Wabara, to reconcile Atiku and Wike’s allies have failed, so far.
The Wabara-led set up a reconciliation committee to intervene in the long-running crisis but was unable to broker peace as expected.
Meanwhile, Wike has vowed to remain in the party as he insisted not to have anything to do with the presidential campaigns unless Ayu leaves.
In another development, Vanguard reports that the Kaduna State chapter of the PDP on Wednesday inaugurated a 60-member presidential campaign council with the former governor of the state, Alhaji Mukhtar Yero as its chairman.
Yero was inaugurated alongside a former Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency and PDP governorship aspirant, Mohammed Sani Sidi, as the deputy chairman of the committee.
The committee also included Haruna Sa’eed, Mohammed Abbas, the National Youth Leader, Muhammed Kadade, Shehu Sani, and 54 others
During the inauguration, the state PDP Chairman, Hassan Hyat, said it was expected that the committee members will work vigorously for the victory of the party’s presidential candidate.
He said the party in Kaduna State was waxing stronger with the presidential campaign already flagged off in Uyo State.
Hyat explained that because of the peculiar nature of Kaduna, the presidential candidate would be in the state for three working days on a special assignment where he would interface with key stakeholders of the party across the three senatorial zones.
“We already had meetings with all the gubernatorial aspirants including the gubernatorial candidate in the state on their roles ahead of the presidential candidate’s visit,’’ he said.