Wike's team pulls out of Atiku's presidential campaign council after Port Harcourt meeting

GOVERNOR Nyesom Wike's faction of the  Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has pulled out of former vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar's presidential campaign council after a meeting in Port Harcourt this morning.

At the PDP's national convention in Abuja in June, the party elected Alhaji Abubakar as its flagbearer for next year's presidential election. Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State 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 the primary demands of the Wike camp is that party chairman Senator Iyorchia Ayu stands down as it is unacceptable for him and the presidential candidate to both be northerners.

This morning, the Wike camp met in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital and at the meeting, vowed not to play any role in Atiku’s campaign ahead of the 2023 general elections. According to them, they have no part in the coming presidential election until the national chairman of the party, Senator Ayu, resigns his position.

In a communique read out by a party elder Olabode George, at the village home of Governor Wike, it was resolved that unless Senator Ayu resigns his position for an acting southern chairman, the team would never participate in the campaigns. Some of the key faces in the meeting included Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, former governors Olusegun Mimiko, Donald Duke, Jonah Jang and Ayo Fayose, as well as Professor Jerry Gana.

According to one party source, the meeting which started at about 7pm last night, lasted until about 3am this morning. It is not yet clear what the reaction of the Atiku camp will be to the development.