Politics

Atiku vs Wike: PDP BoT, NWC, Others Meet Over Campaign Council, Party Rift

Published

3 August 2022

5:53 AM

PDP Crisis: Tension As Days To 2023 Presidential Election, Wike Refuses To Campaign For Atiku

Atiku Abubakar exchanges pleasantries with Governor Wike. File Photo

An end to the crisis that is rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which started after the conduct of its presidential primary and vice-presidential candidate nomination may be in sight.

Recall that the decision of the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, to pick Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate, snubbing a selection committee that had recommended Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State had thrown the main opposition party into crisis.

According to Vanguard, moves to reconcile aggrieved members of the party will top the agenda as members of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) and National Working Committee (NWC) meet today.

It was also gathered that the setting up of the Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the 2023 general election will be discussed at the meeting.

A member of the former ruling party’s BoT, who pleaded for anonymity, disclosed that said so much work had gone into the process of calming frayed nerves ahead of today’s meeting.

The source said: “We will be meeting later tomorrow (today) to iron out all of these issues. They are not as serious as some of you in the media are trying to make it look.

“Yes, there are issues as is normal in politics. Our respected governors irrespective of the presidential aspirants they supported during the primaries are interested in the victory of the PDP in 2023 and have resolved to support the party to achieve this goal. Our collective survival as not only politicians but also Nigerians depend on this.

“The process of reconciliation is an ongoing one and will continue. We are all aware of the fact that time is not on our side and we need to expedite action on the setting up of the presidential campaign council.

“We need everybody on board in order to have a robust campaign. That is why we want to bring the aggrieved persons to the table, address their grievances and move on. It is our hope that by the middle of this month at the most, our campaign team will be fully on ground.”