Wike camp known as the G-5 Governors boycotts the launch of Atiku's presidential campaign

FORMER vice president Alhaji Atiku Abubakar's 2023 presidential electoral campaign got off to a floundering start yesterday as five Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors boycotted the official launch in Abuja.

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. One of the key demands of the Wike camp has been that PDP chairman Senator Iyorchia 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.

Despite several meetings between the Atiku and Wike camps to resolve the impasse, the matter has not been sorted out and Senator Ayu remains in office. Governors Wike, Seyi Makinde  (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia) and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu) thus all decoded to boycott the launch of Atiku's campaign.

Governor Okowa and several of his counterparts including Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State,  Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State and Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State were at the launch, however. Prior to Senator Ayu’s emergence as PDP national chairman, Governor Wike and his allies were attending PDP activities all over the country  and calling the shots.

However, after Senator Ayu emerged as party chairman, the PDP refused to zone its presidential ticket to the south, throwing it open, thus paving the way for Atiku to clinch the ticket. According to Governor Wike’s group, Senator Ayu was supposed to step down immediately to allow a southerner take over as chairman and ensure a balanced leadership in the party but he appears not interested in doing that.

Governor Wike and his colleagues, who are now called the G-5 Governors, appear to have resolved that if Senator Ayu refuses to resign, they will not be part of any presidential campaign. Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, secretary-general, said the action of the G-5 Governors was not a surprise, noting that they were right to boycott Atiku’s campaign flag-off owing to the PDP’s unjust treatment of southern Nigeria.

Mazi Isizuzoro added: “They have shown that they are true Nigerians. How could you explain a situation where a party’s presidential candidate and the national chairman will come from one region? So, what are they going to tell the people during the campaign?

“How would these southern and Middle Belt governors go and start preaching to people to support Atiku? It will be a misnomer, it will be a bad show. We told you the last time that about 18 governors are behind Peter Obi.

"Atiku is being deceived by someone in the presidency and he will only survive 2023 if he heeds to the demand of Wike and his group. However, if he continues to let pride rule over him, what happened to him in 2019 would be a child’s play to the fate that will befall him in 2023.

"He will come a distant third in that election. It appears that the gods have blinded his reasoning and that is why Ayu has refused to step down. PDP as it is constituted today has no sense of justice and equity."