Ayu To Remain As Atiku Move On Without Wike, Makinde, Ortom, Fayose, Others

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and leaders of the opposition party have decided to move o with aggrieved members of the party led by the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.

Naija News reports that the PDP will on Monday (today) kicks off its presidential campaigns in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State.

Atiku and Wike had been at loggerheads over moves to remove the national chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu.

While Wike, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Governor Okezie Ikpeau of Abia State, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, former Ekiti Governor Ayo Fayose, and many others have pulled out of Atiku’s campaign, the PDP presidential candidate has decided to move on with his campaign activities.

A source told Vanguard that Atiku and his allies have decided to move on with the campaigns without Wike and his team.

The source, who is an ally of the former Vice President, said: “Let me tell you the honest truth. As far as the Wike matter is concerned there is an overwhelming sentiment that the campaign has moved on.

“So, if Wike or anyone in his camp shows the readiness of coming in, they will be accommodated but nobody is waiting for them again because they are not important enough to hurt the process. That is the honest, overwhelming impression.”

The source also dismissed calls for Senator Ayu’s resignation and the setting up of a caretaker committee for the party, describing it as not feasible.

He said: “What they are talking about is not what anyone will count seriously. There cannot be a caretaker committee for the party and nobody will take that because it is illegal. If you follow what is happening in the APC, it is about the court saying whether their candidate is legal or illegal.

“The NWC of the party, as it is now, should be left alone because anything done now, may affect a lot of decisions that are critical. It is a gamble that nobody is ready to take; whether good or bad, it should be left the way it is.”