PDP Crisis: Those ‘romancing’ Wike now aren’t his friends – Fintiri

Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri has said those romancing the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike are not his friends.

Fintiri stated this while announcing that he has been appointed to lead Atiku Abubakar’s reconciliation team as part of ongoing efforts to resolve the lingering feud between the former vice president and Wike.

The governor, who told journalist this at the Yola International Airport on Saturday, said he was the right man for the assignment.

He said with God’s help he could broker a truce between Atiku and Wike, who came second in the PDP’s presidential primary. This was after he had joked that with his bromance with Wike and Atiku, he was in a good stead to help resolve the rift between the two politicians, saying, “I am an embodiment of both men.”

He gave an assurance that the crisis rocking the party would be resolved amicably before the general elections next year.

While acknowledging the enormity of the task at hand, he stated that there were encouraging signs that the committee would succeed in brokering a peace deal following his first meeting with Wike.

Fintiri explained that his Rivers State counterpart had made substantial investment in the party to let it all go to waste if he refuses to back Atiku for the poll.

He said, “Who are his friends in the APC? Are you telling me that those who are now romancing Wike love him? I can assure you that with God, the party will put its house in order before the 2023 elections. Even Wike knows that he has been by far the biggest investor in the party; can he now walk away from all of his investment? We recognise that he loves his people and I can assure you that he will have a fair deal if it comes to that; we just need to put the crisis behind us.”

The PDP has been in crisis since Atiku settled for Delta State Governor, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, as his running mate.

The preference of Okowa irked Wike, who vowed to seek a fair deal for his people, and since that pronouncement, all has not been well with the party with many insinuating that the Rivers governor’s actions showing that of a man on his way out of the PDP.

But Fintiri is optimistic of the party’s flag bearer clinching the presidency in 2023, adding that with interactions and understanding, the impasse would soon be resolved and the party re-united.