PDP Crisis: Peace Meeting Fails As Wike Insists On Ayu’s Resignation

The Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, on Friday, ignored the delegation sent by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, by failing to attend the much expected peace parley for resolution of the conflict that has engulfed the party.

The delegation was in Rivers State, Port Harcourt, to meet the governor to resolve major differences following the conduct of the party’s presidential primary and the selection of the party’s Vice Presidential Candidate.

Apart from being overlooked by Atiku for the VP’s position, Wike is aggrieved that he was also treated with disrespect by Atiku and his camp by their media statements.

He also accused Atiku of lying against him that he made overtures through phone calls and text messages,insisting that there was no real move for any dialogue.

While the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the party had harped on sending the National Executive and National Working Committees of the party, to Port Harcourt to “kneel for Wike not to decamp,” only a three-member delegation was in Port Harcourt on Friday.

A video seen by THE WHISTLER showed the peace parley was attended by both the Atiku and Wike camps with neither of the actual actors in attendance.

Those seen in the video were former Ondo State governor, Olusegun Mimiko, who led the Wike camp and Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, who headed the Atiku camp.

The rest of those who attended the meeting were former governors of Gombe and Cross River States, Ibrahim Dankwambo and Donald Duke, former Attorney-General of the Federation, Bello Adoke and former PDP governorship candidate in Ondo State, Eyitayo Jegede.

The meeting which was said to have lasted less than one hour yielded no positive outcome. But Fintiri stated shortly after the gathering when quizzed by journalists that, “…at the end of the day we will broker peace and unify the party and Nigerians.”

Sources with insights into what transpired and why the meeting was short said the irreducible minimum conditions earlier given by Wike were restated with a message that “Atiku should be serious” and that “Ayu must resign first or nothing.”

There was also the demand that there must be face to face talk involving Wike and Atiku instead of negotiations through proxies.

As a foretaste of what to come, Wike had on Thursday doubled down his resolve for things to be done his way and restated the importance of Rivers State, especially Obio Akpor, his local government of origin, in the electoral scheme of things in the country.

The govenor said after commissioning of another flyover by Duke that, “We have collapsed every other party. Every day people from All Progressives Congress (APC) are joining our party. We are here doing that and some people are in Abuja; ask them how many persons have they brought to the party.

“It’s not to say I’m supporting our candidate. How many people have you brought to help your candidate. We are here everyday bringing people to join our party and you are there following your candidate from Abuja to Adamawa. Is it there you’ll win the votes? Come back home,” Wike said.

Wike pointed out that, “This Local Government alone, Obio Akpor, where I come from, we registered not less than 600 thousand voters. This local government beats two states in their electoral strength.

“So, we are not a state that you can take for granted, not to talk about the Local Government where I come from.

“I believe that they must know us here because we have what it takes to deliver. They must come and know us. I’m not going to find anybody. You must come here. You can’t take 600 and something thousand votes away from my local government. You can’t take 3.2million votes from my State just like that.”

On political quid pro quo, he said, “If we were father Christmas before, we won’t be father Christmas again? You must tell me what is there for me if I should vote. So, nobody should bother himself. At the appropriate time we will talk to our people and our people will understand.

“If you say we don’t exist, we will tell you that you don’t exits. I am not a son to anybody. I am a son of Rivers State. I am working to attract what will benefit Rivers State.”

The spokesman for the PDP, Debo Ologunagba was not available for comment while the spokesman for the Atiku Abubakar Campaign, Dino Melaye did not respond to calls or text message sent to his telephone line.