PDP crisis: Wike’s camp to produce Ayu’s replacement from S/West

There are strong indications that the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, may have yielded to the demand by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, for the removal of the party’s National Chairman, Iyiochia Ayu.

Wike, who has been a force to reckon with in the main opposition party, has been aggrieved over the circumstances surrounding his loss at the party’s presidential primaries as well as Atiku’s choice of running mate.

Part of the agreement reached at the meeting between Atiku and Wike in London, it was learnt, was that Ayu should be given a dignified exit and accommodated in the new PDP government when it is formed.

The Wike camp equally extracted a commitment from Atiku to be allowed to produce Ayu’s replacement and that the person should be from the South West Zone.

It is however unclear if Atiku yielded to the demand by Wike’s camp to serve for a single term to allow for power to shift to the south to assuage feeling of betrayal of southerners.

The Wike camp which outnumbered the Atiku camp two to one at the London meeting was also able to extract a commitment from the PDP candidate to produce the Senate President and some Principal officers of the National Assembly.

Members of the Wike camp will also be appointed into yet to be agreed key ministerial positions as well as the headship of Federal parastatals and agencies if they win the 2023 general elections.

In return, the Wike camp agreed to play a pivotal role in marketing the Atiku/ Okowa ticket and providing logistics for the general campaign.

A source familiar with the development who confided in Saturday Vanguard, said, “ It was also agreed that media hostilities should cease and this was largely responsible for the statement Atiku caused his Media Office to issue on Thursday.

“Atiku was left with little room to negotiate, he was outnumbered and the open solicitation by the candidates of the Labour Party and the All Progressives Congress, Mr. Peter Obi and Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu did not help matters.”

(Vanguard)