As It Was For Jonathan in 2015, Bells May Ring For Atiku In 2023

The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday concluded her NEC and NWC meetings at Abuja. Prominent leaders of the party were in attendance.

Attendees of the party’s NEC meeting included the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, his running mate, Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Walid Jubrin, the BoT chairman, Chief Bode George, the South-West leader, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara.

Conspicuously absent at the meeting were Governors Nyesom Wike, Okezie Ikpeazu, Simon Ortom and Seyi Makinde.

Against all expectations, it is safe to assume that the main agenda of the NEC meeting was to ratify the position of Senator Iyorchia Ayu as party chairman. This is contrary to the demands by Governor Wike and his group that Ayu should resign.

Members of the PDP NEC went on to pass a vote of confidence on Ayu. By that decision, it is clear that Atiku Abubakar has thrown away peace and reconciliation talks with Wike albeit his taciturn body language of not responding to verbal attacks on him by the Rivers State governor.

Interestingly, Governor Tambuwal resigned his position as chairman of PDP governors Forum. Governor Makinde was appointed as new chairman of the PDP governors Forum, perhaps to assuage members of Wike’s group.

Chairman of the PDP BoT, Walid Jubrin, also resigned his position. Wabara was appointed to replace him, perhaps another deliberate move to pacify the Wike group.

To the Wike group and other members of the PDP that seek for equity, balancing of party positions, especially after the emergence of Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate; the resignation of the persons named above, are nothing but cosmetic changes. They had demanded ‘irreducible’ resignation of Iyorchia Ayu as party chairman and his successor to emerge from the South.

For the records, the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is from Adamawa State, while Ayu is also from the North. The PDP constitution encourages a balance of position of having the chairman and presidential candidate to be from different regions of the nation – not as it is presently, with Atiku and Ayu coming from the same geo-political region. This is the main plank for the grouse of Governor Wike and the other governors that support him. This position was continually argued and advanced to PDP party members by the BoT chairman, Walid Jubrin, – he offered to resign his position as a first step to reconciliation between between Wike and Atiku.

Atiku may have played the fox on Wike in their London meeting – while negotiating for peace and reconciliation on one hand, he was with the other hand deploying his foot soldiers to ‘pull the rug’ of political power in Rivers State from under Governor Wike’s feet and take over control of the party structure from Wike.

Sources say Atiku has targeted Rivers PDP leaders, especially those who had accused Wike of being high-handed, to form a parallel PDP group that will work for him in the 2023 presidential election. How this strategy will pan out remains to be seen, especially considering the fact that PDP had since 1999 being a PDP State.

In the midst of acrimonious face off between Wike and Atiku; interestingly, former President Goodluck Johnathan had remained ‘quite’ and had maintained a stoic silence that only the god’s can interpret.

Also, Governor Wike’s recent flirtatious meetings with presidential candidates of the APC, Bola Tinubu and Peter Obi of the LP, bodes negative disadvantage to Atiku in his ambition to win the 2023 presidential election.

Wike may just replicate the ‘factor’ that Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki, Aminu Tambuwal, Sule Lamido, Aliyu Babangida, and Aliu Wammako, played against former President Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 presidential election.

The question on the lips of political watchers is: will Governor Wike be the sword of damocles and albatross on the neck of Atiku to lose the 2023 presidential election? Governor Wike will still wield a lot of influence as at February 2023 when the presidential election will hold and he may play a decisive role to frustrate the effort of Atiku becoming president if the ‘irreducible’ demand of his group for the resignation of Ayu are not met. Clearly, Wike may just be the key to an Atiku presidency in 2023.