As the crisis over the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s running mate worsens, the Chairman of the Party’s Board of Trustees, Senator Walid Jibrin, has said the party had set up a nine-member committee  to beg Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.

Sequel to his victory at the PDP convention, where he beat Wike and other contenders to the presidential ticket, Atiku had nominated Okowa as his running mate, despite the recommendation of Wike by a 17-man committee set up by the party.

Certain chieftains of the party, including the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, ex-Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang and others, had criticised the choice of Okowa as the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

There were reports on Friday that Wike snubbed a former Minister of Police Affairs and ally of Atiku, Adamu Waziri, who attempted to initiate a peace talk with him in Turkey.

The party, also on Sunday, raised another panel headed by Atiku, to pacify the aggrieved Governor and prevail on him not to leave the party.

The Chairman, Gokana Local Government Area in Rivers State, Confidence Deko, in an interview with one of our correspondents in Port Harcourt, said Wike did not deserve the treatment he got from  Atiku and the PDP.

He said, “As far I am concerned, Wike has done so much for the PDP and I don’t think he deserves what the party gave to him. Come to think of it, Atiku Abubakar and the party asked the National Working Committee to find out who becomes the vice-president. A report was submitted and he (Atiku) ignored the report, and then picked Ifeanyi Okowa, the Delta State Governor.

“I am not saying he is not supposed to use somebody, but I am of the view that if he was part of those who asked the NWC to search for who becomes the vice-president to be, and they gave him their recommendation, he would have acted on it.

“But to me, it looks very odd that after submitting the report to him, he went and announced Okowa. I don’t think that Wike deserves what Atiku has done to him.”

The council boss disclosed that Wike supporters were waiting for his decision and political direction ahead of the presidential poll.

On the comments of former Plateau State Governor, Jonah Jang, on the chances of the PDP in 2023 due to the festering crisis and if Okowa should be replaced, Deko said the man was not joking.

He added, “He has told you and you have heard the truth from him. If Wike was to be the vice-presidential candidate for Atiku, by now, you know Wike is a very practical person. And he does what his mind ask him to do.”

“The only option is to remove Okowa from there and announce Wike. In 2019, Wike brought the highest number of votes from South-South.”

Speaking in the same vein, some members of the House of Representatives loyal to Wike contended that the PDP was bound to fail with its choice of Okowa as the running mate.

The PDP lawmakers, in separate interviews with The PUNCH on Sunday, also took a swipe at the National Chairman of the PDP, Senator Iyorchia Ayu, criticising his role in the crisis that has followed the presidential primary of the opposition party.

When asked if the party should substitute Okowa with Wike, a member of the House from Kogi State, Teejay Yusuf, said it was possible if the presidential candidate could see the value the Rivers governor would add to the PDP ticket.

He said, “That will be the choice of the candidate. It would be his prerogative to do that. It is not for me to suggest that to him. If he sees that  Wike will add more value to the ticket and say ‘with the way it is, I can manage the ripple effect of taking Okowa out,’ why not, if not?”

“Okowa is a PDP governor but nobody can deny the fact that Wike has the will and the capacity to make this party stand on its feet.”

The lawmaker, however, dismissed the possibility of Wike, who he described as “a party man,” dumping the PDP for another party or working with another party or presidential candidate through the backdoor.

But he cautioned that the governor’s loyalty should not be abused.

“I know that the standard-bearer is a politician of repute and he knows the dynamics, but he is a human being. So, if he made the wrong decision, I believe that, fortunately, the Electoral Act (2022) gives ample time; we have eight months to the general elections. In politics, one day can be a million days. A lot can be done in one day,” Yusuf noted.

The lawmaker affirmed that the standard-bearer should naturally look for the best way to make the decision while avoiding “a situation that might jeopardise the unity of the party and the collective desire to win the election.”

The lawmaker also condemned  Ayu for allegedly taking sides in the crisis, when he should have been neutral as the leader of the party.

Yusuf cited the example of how Ayu met with the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, and called him a hero.

Tambuwal had stepped down for Atiku at the PDP primary, making it possible for the latter to defeat Wike who came second amid protests against the retention of power in the North when it was expected to rotate to the South.

Speaking on the calls on Atiku to reconcile with Wike, he said, “That is a fact and that was what was emphasised by the leaders who spoke of recent, notably Governor Ortom and former governor Jang. I lend my voice to that, that one stoops to conquer. It is the normal thing to be done.”

The Punch