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At the party’s national caucus meeting in Abuja on Wednesday evening, April 17, both Atiku Abubakar, the 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, were in attendance.
This meeting serves as a precursor to the party’s National Executive Committee meeting, which is set to take place on Thursday, April 18.
It is noteworthy that this is the first time Wike, the former Rivers state governor, has participated in a PDP meeting since the presidential election last year.
Wike had previously been at odds with the PDP leadership and did not lend his support to the party’s candidate, Atiku, during the 2023 presidential election.
In addition to his opposition to Atiku’s campaign, Wike’s decision to serve in President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet further strained his relationship with key stakeholders within the party.
The upcoming NEC meeting, scheduled for tomorrow, will address crucial matters concerning the party’s leadership and will also delve into discussions regarding Wike’s involvement in party activities.
Meanwhile, Mark Jacob, a former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has shed light on Nyesom Wike’s decision thrown his support behind President Bola Tinubu in the 2023 general election.
Recall that despite being a prominent member of the PDP and former governor of Rivers State, chose to support Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate who later won.
Wike’s surprising support for Tinubu was attributed to his leadership of the G5, a group of disgruntled PDP governors who disagreed with the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and the party’s national leadership at the time.
Following the PDP presidential primary, the G5 emerged, consisting of Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State.
The group was formed in direct response to Atiku’s triumph over Wike and others in the race to be the party’s flag bearer.
The G5 was dissatisfied with the PDP’s leadership structure, notably the demand for the resignation of then-PDP National Chairperson Iyorchia Ayu.
Given that both Ayu and Atiku are from northern Nigeria, the G5 suggested that a southerner should replace Ayu to maintain regional balance within the party.
Following the elections, President Tinubu’s choice to designate Wike as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was generally seen as a show of appreciation for the latter’s support during the election campaign.
Wike’s cross-party support for Tinubu not only influenced the outcome of the election but also demonstrated the delicate talks and realignments that occur behind the scenes in Nigerian electoral politics.
Speaking on Wednesday, when he appeared as a guest on Arise TV’s The Morning Show, Jacob claimed Wike and other people he did not identify “deliberately worked against the party (PDP) in the election for his selfish interests.”
“My position has been that you can never succeed when you are fighting your own family,” he said. Wike’s revolt against the PDP, he said, was to blame for the party’s defeat in the election.
The former legal adviser said that Wike’s drive to move power to southern Nigeria was motivated by a desire to become president.
He said:
“Everybody now knows that the campaign for power shift by Wike and his group was largely for themselves. It was not for everybody in the south otherwise people like Peter Obi should have been given the (presidential) slot in the PDP.”
Asked if Wike and others who allegedly worked against the PDP in the election should be expelled, he said, “Personally, I recommend that, as gentlemen, they should resign from the party.
“If they fail to resign, they should be sanctioned.”
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