By Olusegun Olanrewaju (Lagos) and Ben Ogbemudia (Abuja)
The flurry of political activities surrounding the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, took another dramatic twist yesterday as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, with whom he has been at daggers-drawn met him in London.
There had been intrigues in the main opposition party since Atiku picked the party’s presidential ticket. The situation worsened when Atiku picked his running mate, Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, as against Wike who was projected as the candidate for the VP slot by a committee set up by the party which projected .
Several reconciliation moves had been made by party officials and stakeholders who are concerned about the fortunes of the party as the 2023 presidential election draws nearer.
The direct meeting between and Wike is coming after attempts by the reconciliation committee set up to interphase between the two leaders failed.
Recall that a three-member delegation from Atiku, on Friday, met with that of Wike in Port Harcourt.
Yesterday, ThisNigeria gathered that another opportunity presented itself when a meeting was held between Wike and Atiku in London, with some PDP governors present.
They include Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Adamu Fintiri of Adamawa, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia, and Seyi Makinde of Oyo former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke and Senator Olaka Nwogu.
The meeting was said to be part of efforts by Atiku to woo Wike ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
An inside source told ThisNigeria that no real conclusion was reached as of the time of filing this report.
“The discussion is still ongoing. They have not reached any conclusion,” the source disclosed at about 11pm yesterday.
*Also, Obasanjo leads Obi to meet Rivers gov, Ikpeazu, Duke, Ortom, Makinde in UK
Earlier, ThisNigeria break the news that former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, also met with the Rivers governor yesterday.
Obasanjo was spotted in a photograph with Obi, as well as Wike Makinde, Ikpeazu, and Ortom in the English capital, London.
A source told ThisNigeria that the meeting was not unconnected with preparations ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The meeting came barely 24 hours after Wike met with the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, in London.
An official of a support group for Tinubu, Realwan Okpanachi, said both men met in London to discuss a “strategic alliance ahead of the 2023 presidential election and acknowledged the need to work together to ensure that Tinubu becomes president in 2023.”
The meeting also comes amid speculations that he is considering joining the APC, having been seen gambolling lately with some APC governors.
Following the development, PDP’s elders raised concern that Wike’s actions, as well as those of the governors of the states of Oyo and Benue, Seyi Makinde and Samuel Ortom, may hurt the party’s chances of winning the 2023 presidential election.
It was learnt that discussions among the PDP hierarchy on Wednesday were dominated by the Wike and Tinubu’s meeting on Tuesday in the UK.
A former National Welfare Secretary of the APC, Kabir Masari, had confirmed that the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, met with the Wike in London.
Masari, who was the placeholder for APC vice presidential position, said the meeting was fruitful.
Wike had previously met with top APC members, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Aliyu Wamakko, the governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, as well as his Ondo and Lagos counterparts, Rotimi Akeredolu, and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, among others.
In an interview with BBC Hausa, Masari said the former Lagos State governor, Tinubu, had met with Wike as part of the 2023 calculations.
“Yes, it’s true they (Messrs Tinubu and Wike) met and they will continue to meet by God’s grace. The meeting was connected to the 2023 general elections, and we now know His Excellency, Nyesom Wike, is going to work for us (Tinubu’s team), and we would win easily,” he said.
He said the Rivers Governor didn’t need to join the APC before he could help the party to succeed in the presidential contest.
Obasanjo, Obi meet with Wike, others in London
As the cat-and-mouse between Wike and Atiku continued, the Wike camp made some requests to be met before embracing reconciliation.
Later, the Board of Trustees (BoT) PDP said a meeting would be held last Wednesday between Atiku and Wike, but Atiku scuttled plans by holding a rally in his home state, Adamawa.
This was interpreted as a sign of unseriousness by the Wike camp, which could have facilitated Wike’s romance with the APC leadership.
Wike’s surprising meeting with Tinubu, which was highly celebrated by the APC, sent no small jitters to the Atiku camp.
Wike had on Sunday met with PDP governors and other stakeholders who coordinated his campaign for the presidential ticket.
During the meeting, it was gathered that the Wike PDP camp demanded the resignation of the party’s National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, as part of the conditions to work for Atiku.
Sources familiar with the meeting said the Rivers governor’s men were also demanding a written agreement from the presidential candidate on what would be accruing to them should the party win the 2023 elections.
*Attacks on Wike: Atiku warns PDP members against compromising party’s unity
Meanwhile, Atiku has warned all stakeholders of the party and his supporters to desist forthwith from making statements that are capable of compromising the ongoing work towards further strengthening the party and bringing all its leaders together.
The former vice-president gave the warning through a press statement signed by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, in Abuja, yesterday.
According to the statement, “It has become imperative to appeal to all party members, leaders and everyone related to, connected with, or associated with, the presidential candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, to desist from making comments that potentially reduce the optics of PDP’s image as a united political party.
“This appeal becomes necessary to call the attention of party leaders and members to the diversionary antics of the ruling All Progressives Congress which, in manufacturing a false impression of division within the PDP, aims to hoodwink the Nigerian public to overlook the monumental failures of the ruling party.
“Today, Nigerians look up to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to lead the charge in ousting the ruling party. This expectation from the people is the reason why the APC is jittery about their impending fall in next year’s general election. It is also the very reason why the ruling party is manipulating the political process to create a sense of division in the PDP.
“Because they know that there is nothing to campaign with from their records of performance in office, the APC has elected to play the role of the devil’s advocate, regaling in celebration of their imaginary invincibility upon a fraudulent claim that the PDP is divided.
“It is for this reason that appeals to every true member of the PDP and anyone who truly wishes the success of the PDP presidential candidate to not fall for the antics of the APC in making statements that could give credence to the false claim of divisions in the PDP.
“All the leaders of the party, including especially the governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Nyesom Wike, and all governors of the PDP are united in working for the victory of the PDP in next year’s general election across the board.
“What is at stake in the next year’s election is the future of Nigeria and all leaders and members of the PDP are on the same page in the mission to rescue Nigeria from the stranglehold of the APC.”
