PDP crisis: Wike, Makinde blow hot as party guber candidates move to settle Atiku, gov rift

From Tony John, Port Harcourt and  Emmanuel Adeyemi, Lokoja

In spite of assurance by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidates that the internal crisis in the party has been resolved, Governor Nyesom Wike and his Oyo State counterparty, ‘Seyi Makinde, yesterday, fired salvos at perceived enemies.

The protracted wrangling involve the presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, national chairman, Iyorcha Ayu and the camp led by Wike.

Speaking at the inauguration of Emohua campus of Rivers State University, and the flag off of staff quarters, performed by Governor Makinde, in Port Harcourt, yesterday, Governor Wike declared  that time of reckoning was coming for those who continue to insist that they can take everything to themselves in the PDP.

He maintained that nobody can silence him from speaking against injustice in the party and demanded for the right thing to be done.

“You can’t take everything. If you take everything, it will purge you. So, better do the right thing now. Don’t sit there and think you can muscle me and you can do everything, you can manipulate anything. You can think you have  the number to make sure you take everything, but the time is coming when you will account for it.”

According to him, it would be erroneous for PDP states that had failed to provide good governance to solicit for  votes from the electorate.  “If any PDP state is not doing well, don’t think you will be voted for because APC is not doing well. If  PDP state, for example, if in Rivers State we didn’t do well, then, you’ll say because APC did not do well at the national, then, the people will vote for us. They’ll tell you PDP, you didn’t do well in Rivers State. People don’t understand that. And that is why the party should respect us and know that we are the ones campaigning for the party because we have what to use to campaign.”

•We’ll fight for space in party –Makinde

In his remark, Oyo State governor vowed that they would not relent in their fight for space in the party.

He hailed  Governor Wike on his performance saying his endeavour was evidence of his vision and commitment to the good of the people of Rivers State.

“If children are doing all of these, I think what Nigeria needs are children. So, my brother (Wike) you can be rest assured that Nigeria appreciates you.

“Even the fight that we lost, we did not lose with our heads bowed. We stood for the truth and for what is good for the country. We will continue to fight for our space within PDP. We will fight for what is good for our people.”

Governor Wike insisted that the delivery of quality projects by him and his colleague governors would serve the PDP well in their respective States. He noted that the establishment of multi-campus for RSU was strategic in increasing access to education, providing more space for effective teaching and learning to take place and, grow the economy of rural communities.

•Atiku, Wike feud resolved –Governorship candidates

Seventeen governorship candidates had met with Governor Wike at his private residence in Rumuepirikom, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on Tuesday night.

The party’s governorship candidates were from Sokoto, Jigawa, Kaduna, Katsina and 13 other states.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues after the meeting,  which lasted for over two hours and had no media coverage, the PDP governorship candidate of Kaduna State, Isa Mohammed Bashiru, said they were hopeful of the outcome of their meeting.

He said the meeting bordered on the internal feud, which details he did not reveal. He said they would meet with the National Working Committee (NWC) to take a decision on the matter.

“The talk was fruitful, open discussion with all sincerity. And we are home and dry. We met and discussed on issues that border on the situation within the party…

“We have discussed with the presidential candidate (Atiku). We are here with our brother and friend (Wike). And issues that border on what has happened has been sorted out. The issue is being resolved as far as I am concerned.

“We have heard from both sides and we are going to meet with the National Working Committee to take a decision.”

•Wike not PDP’s problem  –Akawor

Reacting to the claim of the overnorship candidates, Chairman of the PDP in Rivers State, Desmond Akawor, clarified that the crisis is not between Governor Wike and Atiku. He also said he was not aware that the  internal crisis between party and the South has been resolved as claimed in a statement credited to the PDP governorship candidates.

Akawor said if what the governorship candidates said was correct, it meant there was something on the table for the South-South, which he was not aware of.

He emphasised that the position of Wike was also the position of other Southern PDP governors that they should be treated fairly in the party.

“The presidential candidate is from the North; the National Chairman is from the North, the BoT Chairman is from the North. The Deputy National Chairman is from the North. This is the problem. So, people should get it right. The problem is not between the governor (Wike) and the presidential candidate (Atiku). It is between PDP and the  South.”

•Ignore him, perish –Dike

A chieftain of the party in Rivers State, Princewill Dike, has said embarrassing defeat awaits  Atiku if he ignores the demands of Wike and his camp.

He blamed Atiku and the national chairman for mismanaging an internal crisis he said should have been nipped in the bud before it loomed large.

Describing Governor Wike as a force, performer and great mobiliser, Dike said the Rivers governor remained the backbone of the PDP, noting that any attempt to call his bluff would spell doom for the party’s moves to reclaim the centre.

The Port Harcourt-based lawyer said the Rivers governor was fighting for justice, inclusiveness and equity and had the sympathies of many of his colleagues, party leaders and many Nigerians.

He said it was inconceivable that all key positions in the party such as the national chairmanship, presidential candidacy and chairmanship of the Board of Trustees (BoT) were occupied by the North to the detriment of the South, which has sustained the party. He said Atiku and the PDP would be playing God if they decided to go into a crucial election with a flawed and northernised PDP structure.

“The presidential candidate of the PDP will be playing with fire if he chooses to ignore the demands of Governor Wike and his camp. Those people hanging around him and mounting pressure on him to call the bluff of Governor Wike are leading him to the abyss.

“It will be foolhardy for Atiku and some enemies of the PDP to think that a governor, who mobilised resources, fought Federal Government and rebuilt the party most of them abandoned no longer matters at this crucial time…

“Let reason prevail and let Atiku and the party do the right thing by restructuring the PDP to give the South a sense of belonging and ensure unity ahead of the poll. The time to act is now because the delay we have witnessed has already become dangerous.”

•Women leader calls for truce

Women leader in Kogi State, Princess Grace Iye Adejoh, has called on Governor Wike and Ayu to close ranks and team up so that the party can get a landslide victory to rescue the country from its present rots.

She said the opposition party can no longer afford to wash its dirty linen outside due to internal bickerings  saying the masses were looking up to the party to rescue the country from total collapse.