Atiku supporters plan to organise 10m man match across the Niger Delta to confront Wike

SUPPORTERS of former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar are planning to organise a 10m man march in the six state of the south-south geo-political zone in a bid to shore up support for the man and face up to Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

In late June, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), elected Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as its flagbearer for next year's presidential election at its annual convention. Governor Wike was a candidate in that election but he was beaten into second place and to make matters worse for him, he was not then picked as the party's running mate.

With Alhaji Abubakar opting to pick Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as his running mate, Governor Wike has been on the war path and there are now fears that he will dump the PDP. Among other things, he has been fraternizing with members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)  lately, amid talk of him possibly decamping.

Over the last week, there have been a series of meetings in London to resolve the crisis, with Atiku flying to the UK to meet with Governor Wike in person. In Rivers State, Governor Wike has already begun using the security forces to move against Atiku supporters and they have now decided to mount a fightback.

For a party in turmoil at the national level and the divisions in some states, the PDP faces dim prospects at the polls in next year's general elections. As things stand across the states, the PDP’s chances are not only threatened by the Wike factor but also by deep-seated rivalry among members.