By Baba Martins (Abuja) & Victor Edozie (Port Harcourt)
A fresh move to resolve the lingering crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) being spearheaded by the governors and the party’s Board of Trustees (BoT) has commenced.
The crisis ballooned on Wednesday when members of the party loyal to the embattled Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, threatened to pull out of the campaign council of the presidential candidate of the party, Atiku Abubakar, if the National Chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, fails to resign.
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Daily Trust reports that Atiku, while responding to their threat, said Ayu won’t resign and appealed to them to retrace their steps.
However, the Chairman of the PDP Governors Forum and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, on Thursday said he is working with his colleagues to find a lasting solution to the crisis in the party.
Addressing journalists after meeting with the BoT of the party led by the acting chairman, Senator Adolphus Wabara, in Abuja, Tambuwal said the governors are discussing among themselves with a view to coming up with a solution.
“We are working to send out APC by May 2023; it is a collective responsibility. We must work together to solve our internal problems, forge ahead and prosecute the electoral battle, and by the grace of God, we will have victory.
“We all know that the BoT is the conscience of the party and whenever there are issues of this nature, the Board of Trustee steps in; it is part of their functions in the party, constitutionally speaking,” he said.
On his part, Wabara said Nigerians will see a more united PDP before campaigns start, adding that they would meet Ayu, Atiku and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa, on the way forward.
I won’t dump PDP – Wike
At a different event, Wike, yesterday said he and his loyalists in Rivers State will not leave PDP despite the crisis rocking the party at the national level.
Wike, who spoke on Thursday at a PDP stakeholders meeting attended by party leaders across the 319 wards of the state in Port Harcourt, said he and his loyalists in Rivers State would remain in the party to continue the fight for internal democracy.
Governor Wike said retreating from a fight is a sign of weakness.
He said the meeting was to brief the party leaders on the recent happenings in the party and his plan to speak on the state of PDP in the country.
In another development, leaders and elders of PDP in Nasarawa State have described the 2023 general elections as very vital for the survival of Nigeria, stressing that for any group to pull out of the presidential campaign council of the party is ill advised.
They pointed out that the need for realignment of party positions is one that cannot be faulted, adding that PDP has always been known to take that into consideration.
The leaders and elders said this in a statement yesterday signed by Hon. Abdulkarim Usman, a member of House of Representatives, Senator Sulaiman Adokwe, Hon. Jibril Sabo Keana and Hon. Musa Bako Karshi, among others.
