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By Suleiman Umaru
With barely six months to the 2023, Presidential elections, the three frontline Presidential Candidates appear to have intensified their battle to win the support of Nyensom Wike, a former minister of state, Education, durig Goodluck Jonathan’s Administration and now governor of Rivers state.
They are , Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, popular, Jagaban, a former governor of Lagos state and National Leader of the All Progressive Congress, APC, who incidentally is the Presidential Candidate of the pary, Atiku Abubakar, a former Vice President, during Olusegun Obasanjo’s Administration and Presidential Candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party and Peter Obi, a business mogul and former governor of Aanambara state, and now Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, LP, appear to have , taken advantage of the deepening crisis in the Opposition PDP, porch Wike, the Rivers governor for support.
The trio were said to have trailed the all powerful Rivers state governor who has abandoned state duties to London, United Kingdom, UK, to hold talks with him. Between Tuesday, August 23, 2022 and Thursday, August 25, 2022, was said to have been very busy for the aggrieved PDP, Chieftain. And political ally of former President Jonatham.
The apc, PDPD and LP, Flag bearers were said to have held talks with Wike,the Rivers state governor in London, United Kingdom, UK. Reawan Okpnachi, the Director General of the Asiwaju Project Beyond, , a political support group, of the former Lagos state governor, and touch bearer of the ruling APC, may have broken the news of Tinubu meeting and his tem , meeting with Wike on Wedneday, August 24, 2022. when He revealed that the former Lagos state governor had met Wike, alongside, Okezie Ikpeazu, Seyi Makinde, and Samuel Orton, governors of Abia, Oyo and the north central state of Benue, respectively, who are members of his Team, opposed to Atiku, the PDPD, Presidential Candidate.
. Okpanaci, had told those that cares to listen that ‘’the talks between Tinubu’s camp and Wike’s camp are going on well’’. He had made Nigerians to believe that the Rivers state governor, who was cheated and shortchanged at the PDP Presidential primaries last May has decided ‘’to form a strategic alliance with the APC, national Leader , ahead of the February 25, 2023, general elections because there is nothing for him anymore in the opposition PDP’’ According to him, ‘’the Niger state governor has lost his bearing and goodwill in the PDP’’, noting that ‘’the political Conspiracy against him is huge and unprecedented’’.
Tinubu, the APAC, Candidate for the 2023, general elections, may have known that the party could only win Rivers state votes in the 2023, Presidential elections to brighten his chances of winning the Presidential race if he could have Wike by his side
Ibrahim Masari, a former Speaker of House of Representatives and governor of Katsina, President Muhammadu Buhari home state may have taken advantage of the deepening crisis I the PDP and the Wednesday meeting between Wke’s Camp and Tinubu’s camp in UK, to give the impression that the aggrieve Rivers state governor and other PDP, governors will support APC, to win the 2023 , general elections
He had cited Ikpeazu, Makindeand Ortom as the other PDP, governors that will work for Tinubu, the APC, Touch bearer for the 2023, general elections. Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa state, may have tried to dampen the enthusiasm of the APC, Candidate not to worry much about having the Rivers state governor and Chieftain of the PDPD, in his camp.
Lamido, who many believe, ought to be working with other elders and founding fathers of the party,to bring the two warring camps together appears to have made matters worse with his recent comments that ‘’Wike has no monopoly over the Rivers electorate and that the governor would become politically irrelevant at the end of his tenure on May 29, 2023’’.
The Rivers state governor may disappoint Tinubu, who has the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari to to work on Wike and his camp in the PDP, as he will not want to play into the hands of the APC. This is because he may not wantnto give room to Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of the state and immediate past minister of Transportation and his political rival in Rivers state to claim credit of Tinubu, winning the state, in the upcoming 2023, general elections, which may whittle down his influence.
Atiku, the PDP, Flag bearer may have realised his mistakes, that he was said to have also travelled to London with some members of political camp to hold to hold talks with Wike and the trio of Ikpeazu, Makinde and Ortom, who are members of his camp.
Political analysts believe that the crisis in the PDPD, may not have gone from bad to worse if Atiku, the PDPD, Presidential Candidate, for the 2023, general elections, if the Adamawa state born politician had accepted Wike as the party Vice Presidential Candidate as recommended by the Committee that was said to have been set up by the Iyorchia Ayu, led National Executive Council of the party.
The Committee was said to have recommended, Wike, Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta state, and one other Candidate to Atiku, to pick his running mate. Wike’s name was said to have top the list of thenames submitted to the PDPD, Flag bearer but he settled for Okowa. He has his reasons that’’ the Delta governor is highly experienced’ ’and ‘’ personifies not only the seriousness the current moment in the country represents but also the future that the young Nigerians crave for and also deserves. He did not stop there. He had said that he had ‘‘consulted widely before finally settling down for the former Lawmaker to be his running mate’’.
Former President Obasanjo, may have known may have read the handwriting on the wall that Wike, may be the deciding factor, for the 2023, general elections. This may have informed why he jetted out with Obi, the LP, Presidential Candidate, to Londom to also hold talks with the Rivers state governor and his Team members on Thursday, August, 25, 2022, a day after the Rivers state governor had a meeting with Tinubu’s camp. Donald Duke, a former governor of Cross River state and a member of the Wike’s camp many not haveparticipated in the meeting with Tinubu and ATiku, the APC and PDP, Presidential Candidates respectively but he was said to been involved in the Obasanjo, Obi talks fueling speculations making the rounds that OBasanjo, who Tinubu, has tried to mend fences with is solidly behind Obi, the LP, Candidate. Recall that Obasanjo had said that his talks with Tinubu in Abeokuta was more ’’brotherly than political’’.
There is no gain saying the fact that Wike, remains ‘’the beautiful political bride’’ as all former political appointees of former President Jonathan, including ministerial appointees are solidly behind to prove a point to Lamido, Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokot state and other members of the PDP, cabal that had imposed Atiku, on the party as the Presidential Candidate for the 2023, general elections that he and his team, remain a force in the party to sway Rivers electorate in the upcoming elections.
Indeed, the Wike’s camp may not have forgiven Lamido, the former Jigawa state governor, and his cohorts for causing ‘’the defeat of the Bayelsa state former Nigerian President, in the 2015, general elections by the Katsina state born Nigerian President.
For now, the fear in PDPD, which pride itself as ‘’the government in waiting’’ was that Wike and his Team, may take the 2023, general elections as payback time for Atiku, Lamido and others in the same political camp who cause the defeat of President Jonathan in 2015, to pave the way for Buhari to rule Nigeria.
There is no Chieftain of the PDPD,that is more worried than Walid Jibril, the party Chairman of Board of Trustees, BOOT. He had said that for the north to occupy the key decision- making positions of the party, excluding the south, is not good enoughand may work against it in the upcoming Presidential elections. A Chieftain of the PD, who spoke to The Value News on condition of anonymity had described his belated observation as ‘’medicine after death’’.
The Opposition PDPD, was said to have had a zoning arrangement but Jibril, the BOT, Chairman, and Ayu, the party Chairman, who are from the north, had connived with the cabal in the cabal in the party to discard it to pave way for Atiku, from the north to emerge as the party Presidential Candidate for the 2023, general elections.
