2023 Presidential Ticket: Wike Blows Hot, Reveals 1 Major Factor That Led to PDP Crisis
- The governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike believes a new Nigeria is possible if the right thing is done and it begins with the leadership of political parties
- Wike whose men pull out of Atiku Abubakar's campaign council recently, has vowed to remain in the party until his demands are met and things are done right
- In a chat with newsmen on Friday, Wike said the leadership of the opposition PDP planted a seed of disunity among party stalwarts by refusing to zone the presidency to the right region ahead of the 2023 elections
Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has blamed the lingering crisis rocking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on the failure to zone the party’s presidential ticket to a particular region.
In a chat with newsmen on Friday, September 23, in Rivers state, he stated that the main opposition party ignorantly planted a seed of discord by leaving the ticket open for all to contest, Channels TV reported.
Source: Facebook
Wike said:
“Those who thought they are too powerful, highly connected, and that they own the party said there should be no zoning of the presidential ticket – ‘leave it open and let the best candidate emerge’ – because they think they have the numbers.
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“We jettisoned our constitution not knowing that we are laying the foundation, the seed of discord in the future.”
The PDP crisis began after Atiku's emerge as party flagbearer
Although there could be some underlying issues, a major crisis in the PDP began weeks before the party held its primary in May.
This disagreement was a result of the failure of the party’s leadership to yield to the demand that its presidential ticket is zoned to the southern region of the country.
The aggrieved persons, especially party leaders from the South, said it would be morally right to zone the ticket to the region since the PDP national chairman had emerged from the North.
Despite the outcry, the party went ahead with the primary which saw a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, emerged as the PDP presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.
Atiku's choice of running mate further fuelled the crisis
Weeks after the primary was held, the PDP presidential candidate named Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta state as his running mate.
While Governor Wike said he had accepted the outcome of the primary in good faith, he insisted that Senator Iyorchia Ayu must resign as the party’s national chairman for the sake of equity since a northern presidential candidate has emerged.
Ayu agreed to resign? PDP chairman finally reacts as Wike, others pull out of Atiku's campaign
The national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu, has urged Governor Nyesom Wike and his allies to return to the party's presidential campaign council in the interest of peace.
Ayu spoke through his Special Assistant (Media), Simon Imobo-Tswam after the Wike camp pulled out of the campaign over Ayu's failure to resign.
The Wike camp insisted that the position of the national chairman must come to the south for balance, justice, and equity since the north has secured the party's presidential ticket.
Atiku sends message to Governor Wike's camp
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Atiku Abubakar, the PDP presidential candidate, again listed conditions that must be met to warrant the resignation of the party's national chairman, Ayu.
He was reacting to the decision of Governor Wike’s camp to pull out of his campaign council.
Atiku said resigning was a sole decision for Ayu to take, adding that no one can force the PDP chairman to resign. He added that if Ayu will be removed from office, it must be done in accordance with the law and the party’s constitution.
Source: Legit.ng
