In Port Harcourt, Rivers – Some stakeholders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the south-south region, particularly in Rivers state, including aspirants, have called on the party’s presidential candidate and southwest governors to stop romancing Nyesom Wike.
The national and state house of assembly and other party faithful said members of the APC in the state find it discouraging to see APC leaders that they look up to dealing with a known political opponent, Governor Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Vanguard reported.
The aggrieved party members said the leaders go as far as inaugurating projects on Wike’s invitation, thereby boosting the chances of the PDP in Rivers with their praises on the governor ahead of the general election.
•APC members point accusing fingers to Buhari, Adamu ;
The candidates spoke at a one-day consultative meeting of the south-south executive committee, where the APC national vice chairman of the zone, Victor Giadom, presided over Port Harcourt.
They also alleged that President Muhammadu Buhari and the party’s national working committee have neglected the Rivers state chapter of the party.
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They said the party’s national chairman, Adamu Abdullahi-led APC, had failed to meet the stakeholders in the state over pressing issues.
•PDP Governors Who May Pull Out of Wike’s Camp if Party’s Crisis Is Not Resolved;
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been engulfed in an internal crisis since the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate.
The opposition party is sharply divided into two camps: The Atiku and the Wike camps.
After losing the PDP presidential and vice-presidential tickets, Wike and those who are sympathetic to him started demanding the resignation of the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, as a precondition to back Atiku.
Their argument is that since Atiku is from the north, the party’s national chairmanship seat should be occupied by a southerner.
However, the crisis lingers as Senator Ayu refused to yield to the Wike camp’s demand.
The development made Governor Wike and his team pull out of Atiku’s campaign. With the campaigns for the 2023 elections officially on, at least two governors in Wike’s camp may pull out if the crisis remains unresolved in the next few weeks.
The governors are Samuel Ortom of Benue state and Seyi Makinde of Oyo state.
•Ortom and the Ayu factor ;
The major demand from Wike’s camp is Ayu’s resignation.
However, it’s difficult for Governor Ortom to join Wike to make such a demand because both he and Ayu and from the same state: Benue.
That’s why he came out recently to dissociate himself from plots to remove Ayu as the PDP national chairman.
Going against Ayu may also hurt Governor Ortom’s political future especially as he is contesting for Benue North West senatorial seat in the 2023 general election.
•Governor Makinde and his re-election bid ;
Among the serving governors in Wike’s camp, Makinde is the only first-term governor who is seeking re-election in 2023.
Joining forces with Wike against the national leadership of the PDP is a risky move for a governor who is seeking a second term bid.
Thus, if the crisis remains unresolved in the next few weeks, Governor Makinde may pull out of the camp to concentrate on his re-election.
The fact that three states from the southwest are behind Ayu is another reason why Governor Makinde may pull out of the camp.
