Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State and supporters loyal to him have pulled out of the Atiku campaign given that the parties national chairman, Iyoricha Ayu has refused to step down.
Wike’s camp said that they will not participate in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign until Ayu resigns as party’s chairman.
The group made its position known after a long meeting which started at about 7pm last night and ended by past 2am this morning at the private residence of Wike in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Some members of the group were recently appointed as leaders and members of the campaign council for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
Allies of Governor Wike are insisting that the National Chairman must resign and a person from southern extraction be chosen to fill the role before peace can reign.
Present at this defining gathering at Wike’s residence in Port Harcourt include Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State; former Governors Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo, Ayo Fayose of Ekiti, Donald Duke of Cross River, Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe and Jonah Jang of Plateau, former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke.
Others at the meeting are elder statesmen, Olabode George, Jerry Gana; South-South Chairman of the PDP, Dan Orbih; former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chibudom Nwuche; Senator Suleiman Nazif, Nnenna Ukeje, among several others.
After over seven hours of private meeting from 7pm on Tuesday, September 20 to past 2am on Wednesday September 21, they gather to briefing journalists on the outcome, with George stating the shocker.
The PDP has been in turmoil since May when Atiku was elected as the standard bearer of the party.
Wike, whom many thought would be chosen as the party’s vice-presidential candidate, was ignored by Atiku who picked Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, as his running mate.
Allies of Governor Wike are insisting that the National Chairman must resign and a person from southern extraction be chosen to fill the role before peace can reign.
This decision may be disastrous for the PDP and its Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar as campaign for the 2023 general elections are scheduled to begin on 28th of September, which is just a week away.