2023: PDP, APC Senators, Others Angry Over Wike’s Opposition To Atiku

Senators elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are reportedly angry with Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State over his opposition to the presidential candidate of the PDP, Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.

It was gathered that the lawmakers, across party lines, and Northern leaders feel that Wike’s continuous attack on Atiku is an attack on the north.

Naija News reports that despite moves to reconcile Atiku and Wike, the Rivers State Governor and his loyalists (Governors Samuel Ortom, Seyi Makinde, and Okezie Ikpeazu of Benue, Oyo, and Abia States) are insisting on the removal of the party’s National Chairman, Senator Iyorchia Ayu.

Northern Anger

Multiple sources disclose to Vanguard that both APC and PDP senators now see Wike’s actions as not just humiliating to Atiku but also to the entire north.

The source said: “The north is taking note of what Wike is doing to Atiku. I am one of them and I can tell you confidently that they are not happy with Wike.

‘’He lost an election and has turned his opposition to Atiku into the age-long North/South divide. The leaders, including senators in both parties, are not happy with Wike. And they have resolved to surprise him at the appropriate time. What does he want?

‘’He is a poor student of history and has forgotten that Atiku is north’s highest representative in the election.”

A Battle For Survival

Speaking further, the source said the dispute between the Rivers State Governor and the former vice president is deliberate and engineered by Wike to secure a position for himself if the PDP wins next year’s election.

The source said the real issue between Wike and Atiku is deliberately distorted to fit a narrative and that narrative is that it is a fight by Wike for relevance.

He noted that Wike, having invested in the party, has a right to insist to be at the top table, adding that the Rivers State Governor came second in the party primary.

“In all democracies, when the winner emerges, the person who comes closest in the race, some grounds will be conceded to him and his followers.

“One had expected that immediately after the primary, the first person Atiku will court will be Wike and his group.

“All issues that have been narrowed down to Wike are for the governors and members that are sympathetic to him and his cause.

“What are the principal issues in this cause? First is that the BoT chairman, party chairman, party candidate, the chairman of the PDP governors’ forum, and all major offices within the PDP are held by northerners,” he said.

North vs South

The source stated that Wike and his allies had insisted from day one that the president must come from the South but some people said it is not like that.

According to him, that was why the contest was thrown open but with a proviso that if the presidential candidate comes from the north, then the chairman of the party who was elected at the convention, would step down and the chairman would now come from the South.

“This is what I heard and maybe Wike will still commit himself. The first discussion Atiku had with Wike is that Ayu would go as earlier discussed.

“Second, Atiku offered to make Wike, at their first meeting, the vice presidential candidate. Wike now told Atiku that he had heard but he would discuss with his team. Atiku offered Wike to be his running mate,” he said.