Wike loyalists boycott the launch of Atiku's presidential election campaign in Abuja

FORMER vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar  has faced a major setback in his quest to get elected president next year as his official campaign launch got off to a dreadful start today with several of his party's governors boycotting it.

In late June, the PDP elected Alhaji Abubakar as its flagbearer for next year's presidential election at its annual convention. Governor 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 other things, he has been fraternizing with members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC)  lately, amid talk of him possibly decamping.

One of the key demands of the Wike camp has been that PDP chairman Senator Ayu stands down, as he, like Alhaji Abubakar is from northern Nigeria and for the sake of unity, it was argued that a southerner should replace him. Governor Wike has several staunch supporters in this regard such as Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State and Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State.

In a sign that the crisis is not going anywhere soon, the Wike camp boycotted the official inauguration of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council today. Governors Ortom, Makinde, Ugwuanyi and Ikpeazu were all absent from the launch which took place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.