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From Fred Itua, Abuja and Paul Osuyi, Asaba and Chinelo Obogo
The Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation has boasted that the presidential candidate would win the elections even as it declared that the presidential candidate has the support of the five aggrieved governors.
Its spokesman, Senator Dino Melaye, who spoke in a television programme in Abuja, however, claimed that some of the aggrieved governors would work for Atiku’s election.
Governors Nyesom Wike, Samuel Ortom, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Okezie Ikpeazu and Seyi Makinde of Rivers, Benue, Enugu, Abia and Oyo states, have been on a warpath with the PDP in the aftermath of the nomination of Ifeanyi Okowa as vice presidential candidate.
The aggrieved governors, popularly known as the G-5, have continued to insist on the replacement of the PDP chairman with a Southerner as a condition for their participation of party’s presidential campaign.
Already, some of them have declared that their states would not support Atiku in the presidential poll. Last Monday, Ayu was conspicuously absent at the flag-off of the PDP campaign in Benue State, which was attended by the G-5 governors.
On Monday, Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, accused Atiku of trying to sabotage his re-election bid. With the latest development, the number of governors, who may likely work against Atiku’s election stands at six. Only seven are in the camp of the Adamawa-born politician, who has been repeatedly accused by Southern leaders of sabotaging a power shift to the region.
But Melaye noted: “Atiku will win without the governors who are aggrieved. Some of them will work for Atiku. We saw that in Benue when the Governor of Abia State, Okezie Ikpeazu, urged voters to vote for PDP from top to bottom. Enugu governor said so too. Some of them will work for Atiku. We will try and resolve the issues and settle our differences internally. But I can assure you that the crisis with the governors will not affect Atiku’s chances. Atiku will still win without them.”
Melaye, who lost his senatorial ticket to a member of the House of Representatives, Teejay Yusuf, lampooned Ortom and accused him of falsely accusing the Fulani community in Nigeria.
“As for Ortom, he needs to tender an apology to Atiku and to the Fulani community. This is a governor who only talks about herdsmen killing his people at the end of the month when it’s time to pay salaries. Ortom openly called all Fulani herdsmen criminals and that’s wrong. There are Fulani people who are Christians and even bishops. For Ortom to do that is wrong.
“Atiku has the capacity to stop the insecurity in the country. He will do that and we need to give him the chance to do that.”
In a separate interview, another spokesman of the campaign organisation, Mr. Charles Aniagwu, assured that Atiku would never avoid any opportunity to explain his rescue plans for the country.
He said while other candidates may be shying away from engaging Nigerians on issues that bother the nation, Atiku and PDP hierarchy were mindful of the need to tell Nigerians what it intends to do to take Nigeria out of the abyss orchestrated by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
•Wike, Ortom, others not our foes –Ayu
The party national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, has said that despite the opposition of the G-5 governors to him and Atiku, they were not enemies of the party.
Ayu, who spoke through his media aide, Simon Imobo-Tswam, yesterday, said the enemy of the party is the All Progressives Congress ( APC).
Ayu said the stance of the governors, notwithstanding, the PDP candidate was poised to win the presidential poll, noting that the odds were clearly in his favour.
According to him, the fact that the election is still about four months away would give the opposition party time to resolve all issues in its folds before the presidential poll. Regardless, he noted that the national chairman believes that all stakeholders in the party must work together to win the 2023 polls.
“So, at the moment, we are still talking. The cards are on the table and we are still appealing to every aggrieved stakeholder. Our opponent is the APC and that is where our focus is.
“Yes, in spite of the opposition of the five governors, PDP will still win. Why do I say so? Elections are not going to be held tomorrow, we are still talking, the window is still open and our message is that of diplomacy. With reconciliation, we are stronger. We may have issues in the party but our eyes are on the ball. That is our focus, our opponents are not in PDP, they are outside PDP. They are APC.
“We are talking. Rivers will vote for PDP. Rivers has been PDP since 1999 and the governor cannot just throw away the history because of issues that can be resolved. We are targeting 25 states. We cannot rule out Benue, Oyo or Rivers. So, PDP is wining minimum 25 states out of 36. Our appeal is that let people come together. If we win, we have a lot on the table,” he stated.
On the absence of Ayu at the flag-off of the PDP 2023 campaign in Benue State, on Monday, the media aide said there was nothing to it, as he was represented by the deputy national chairman (North), Umar Damagun.
He added that the national chairman was elected to return the PDP to power in 2023, noting that the current crisis in the opposition party was part of the burden of leadership.
•I remain Atiku’s PCC chair
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State has said he would not resign as chairman of Atiku Abubakar’s Presidential Campaign Council.
The governor, who spoke during the flag-off of the governorship campaign in Uyo, said he would not cave in to pressure to dump Atiku and described as false, reports that he has turned his back on Atiku and his running mate and Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa.
“I remain chairman of the Atiku-Okowa Presidential Campaign. I am not going anywhere. They’ve seen that we are coasting home to victory, that is why they are bringing that (rumoured resignation),” he said.
